Canada:

from Peacekeeping

to

Military Action

UNITED NATIONSWhat?• international organization to secure world peace• replaced League of Nations• needed to have real power to intervene and settle disputes• 51 reps. gathered to define principles of org.• June ’45 UN createdOverall Objectives:• ensure collective security by working together to avoid war• encourage cooperation among countries• defend human rights• improve living conditions for people around the worldObjective #1: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights:• 1946- John Humphrey(Cdn) head of UN Human Rights Div.

– 1947- created the draft of one of the most important human rights documents

• UN General Assembly adopted Declaration on Dec. 10, 1948

Objective #2: War Refugees• after war, 20 million ppl. in Europe homeless

– one of the first challenges of UN to provide aid for these war refugees• 1946-UN est. International Refugee Organization (IRO)• worked with Red Cross• took over abandoned military bases and prisoner-of-war camps and

made them refugee camps• Can. contributed 18 million to IRORefugees and Canada• Canada dropped some of its discriminatory immigration policies

including those directed to Jew. Refugees• between 1947 and 1952, more than 186 000 refugees found asylum

in Can.• since WWII, Can. accepted 1000’s of refugees from all countries

around the world• Canada received The Nansen Refugee Award in 1986 (this award

highest of honour)• only country ever to receive this award

United Nations, Canada & the Suez CrisisWHAT: the Suez Canal links the Mediterranian Sea

to the Red Sea and Indian Ocean vital international trading route valuable supply route for oilTHE PROBLEM:Suez Canal was controlled by Britain and FranceBUTGamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt wanted to nationalize

the Suez Canal so he could raise $ in order to

free his country from the remnants of colonial rule help destroy the newly created state of Israel

THE REACTION:1) Britain and France wanted to attack Egypt to

stop Nasser CANADA and the US refused join them or support the military

reaction

2) Britain and France negotiate a secret deal with Israel to forcibly regain control of Canal

as part of the plan, Israel invades Egypt Britain and France issues an ultimatum demanding that both countries military

forces leave the region Soviet Union threatens to launch a nuclear attack if Britain and France did not

withdraw from dispute

3) Once again world was on the brink of WAR

CANADA’S ROLE IN THE SUEZ RESOLUTION

• The UN looked for a solution• Lester B. Pearson (Canada’s Secretary of

State) then persuaded the UN General Assembly to organize the world’s first peace keeping mission

• United Nations ordered all foreign troops out of Egypt and sent in peacekeeping forces

• UN sends 1st peacekeeping force to keep warring sides apart

Canada’s Peacekeeping Role:• although Canadian General E.L.M Burns

organized UNEF (United Nations Emergency Force) help was not welcomed by Cdns because their uniforms were to similar to Britain’s

• INSTEAD Canadian troops supplied logistical support and aerial reconnaissance personnel

• crisis was resolved peacefully

LONGTERM RESULTS• between 1956 and the late 1980’s Canada

took part in every UN peacekeeping mission

• Canada gained international respect for her role as a peacekeeping nation

Lester B. Pearson•because of Pearson’s success in the peaceful resolution of the Suez Crisis, he earned the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957

UN, NATO, Canada & YugoslaviaTHE REACTION

•1992: Canada became involved in first UN organized NATO-led peacekeeping operation•16 000 Cdn peacekeepers sent to monitor ceasefire & protect civilians in “save-haven” towns•initial effort failed b/c Bosnian Serbs attacked safe-haven towns & peacekeepers •NATO launched air strikes against Serbian positions•finally overwhelmed by NATO in 1995, Serbia signed a peace agreement

THE PROBLEM•Yugoslavia was created at end of WWI from a collection of diverse territories w/ different languages, religions, ethnicities•with fall of communism, many nationalist groups within Yugoslavia wanted to become independent•Croatia, Slovenia & Bosnia declared independence in short period resulting in civil war•Serbian forces committed genocide in attempt to eliminate Bosnians & Croats from communities deemed to be Serbian•this resulted in an international crisis

UN, Canada & Somalia

• Somalia(an African nation) was thrown into chaos when local clans over threw government

• started civil war to fight for control • at same time experiencing drought & famine • 30,000 citizens had been killed• international community responded to the war without

invitation• U.N created a peace keeping mission called Operation

Restore Peace– wanted to end civil was by disarming warring groups and

providing relief to Somalis – mission was deemed a failure by1995

Canadian Aid and Shame in Somalia

• sent 900 Cdn soldiers • Cdn airborne regiment was

disbanded after videos showed questionable initiation practices and evidence of racism

• Cdn soldiers killed many Somalis under uncertain circumstances

• peace keeping operation will forever be tainted with an event that tarnished the image of Cdn peacekeepers

UN, Canada & Rwanda• Rwanda is an African country that has suffered violence and

genocide, even though the UN was in the country trying to prevent this

• violence was between the Hutus and Tutsis, two tribal groups within Rwanda

• In 1993, the UN sent in a small force led by Canadian General Romeo Dallaire to protect the citizens of Rwanda

• were also sent to help in giving food and aid to the inhabitants of Rwanda

• Dallaire feared a huge upheaval and warned the UN that their force was too small to prevent this wide-open conflict

• 1994 the Hutus struck out against the Tutsis in a bloody campaign which included rape and murder and amounted to genocide

Aftermath of the Attack in Rwanda

• Dallaire begged for 5000 more soldiers to stop the slaughter – this request was questioned because of the recent

failure in Somalia had left many countries concerned about sending troops in under the UN

• eventually the UN pulled out most of its troops in Rwanda

• in July 1994, the Tutsi army drove out the terrible Hutu group that had killed most of the citizens of Rwanda

Romeo Dallaire in Rwanda• became a Brigadier

General in the Canadian military in 1989

• went to Rwanda as a commander in the peace keeping force

• returned home, devastated by the failure of his mission

• eventually wrote a book on his time in Rwanda called: Shake Hands With the Devil which won a Literary Award

Canada, the First Gulf War and Afghanistan

• both were military operations, not peacekeeping missions

• Chretien and Harper decided to use their NATO obligations to justify the military cost and losses

• indicative of how Cdn foreign policy is more in tune with American objectives than British objectives(a major shift from the beginning of the century)– President Obama recently reached out to Canada to continue to

help until peace, and a democratic gov’t, is established in Afghanistan

• indicative of how Canada wishes to spread democracy and human rights beyond its borders

Canada’sEconomic

and Cultural

Associations

Commonwealth Of Nations• made up of countries that were colonies of British Empire• voluntary association of 53 countries

• total population of two billion• 30% of the world’s population• meets every two years

• works toward improving the life and security of members through economic and cultural links

• Canada is one of the Commonwealth’s leading advocates– it is the largest contributor to its development programs

• Canada’s military and eco ties had shifted away from Britain and toward US– Canada maintained its British ties through Commonwealth

• Commonwealth gave Canada opportunities to define own role in global community and express points of view that were separate and distinct from US

The Columbo Plan• created in 1950• provided financial and technical support• Canada contributed 2 billion dollars to the

plan in 20 years

Racial Equality• when South Africa became a republic in

1960, it had to reapply admission to Commonwealth

• South Africa had a policy of apartheid– this legally made black South Africans second

class citizens• 1961- Canada supported India, Malaysia &

Ghana in demands for racial equality• when that policy was adopted, South Africa

withdrew from Commonwealth• SA readmitted in 1991, after apartheid was

abolished and Nelson Mandela became SA’s 1st black president

• Canada and the Commonwealth helped apply the pressure which eventually brought about racial equality in South Africa

APEC, Arctic Council

• Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation– organization of Pacific

economies, – deals with trade and

economic growth– amounted to almost half of

global trade in 2008

• Arctic Council– council of northern

countries– major concern is global

warming and its effect on the Arctic

La Francophonie, G8

• La Francophonie– cultural community of French-

speaking countries– Develop joint policies on

topics such as cultural exchange, justice, peace, etc.

• G8– organization of the most

powerful (economically) countries

– discuss economic, foreign policies

– meetings are always protested