Dear Mélanie Joly,
Congratulations on your appointment as Minister of Foreign Affairs. As you settle into your new position, the Canadian Foreign Policy Institute would like to offer these practical suggestions to advance a more just foreign policy:
Withdraw diplomatic support from mining companies implicated in significant human rights or ecological abuses abroad.
Sign the United Nations Nuclear Ban Treaty. The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) entered into force in January and 97 countries have already signed on to this effort to criminalize nuclear weapons.
Withdraw from the Lima Group of nations seeking to oust Venezuela’s government. Instigated by Canada and Peru four years ago, the Lima Group has lost many of its founding members recently and in August Peru’s new foreign minister called the Lima Group the “most disastrous thing we have done in international politics in the history of Perú.”
Restart diplomatic relations with Iran severed by the Stephen Harper government.
Travel to China to reset relations that deteriorated after both countries made ill-advised arrests of each others citizens. Express Canada’s desire to avoid any further descent in ties and firmly reject Washington’s push for a new Cold War with the world’s most populous state.
Echo Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch’s criticism of Israel’s recent designations of six Palestinian human rights groups as “terrorist organizations”. The groups issued a joint statement, noting “this appalling and unjust decision is an attack by the Israeli government on the international human rights movement.”
Distance Canada from Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. In May Bennett backed individuals detained for fatally shooting an Arab man in ethnic violence and in 2013 Bennett boasted “I have killed many Arabs in my life, and there’s no problem with that”.
Withdraw from the Core Group that heavily shapes Haitian affairs. Canada should not be part of an alliance of international ambassadors dictating to Haitians. In resigning as US special representative to Haiti on September 22, Daniel Foote alluded to the Core Group’s anti-democratic intervention to appoint Ariel Henry prime minister. Foote’s resignation letter noted, “Last week, the U.S. and other embassies in Port-au-Prince issued another public statement of support for the unelected, de facto Prime Minister Dr. Ariel Henry as interim leader of Haiti, and have continued to tout his ‘political agreement’ over another broader, earlier accord shepherded by civil society.”
None of these proposals require significant new resources. What’s more, they are consistent with the government’s claim to support a “rules based international order” and “feminist foreign policy.” Implementing these proposals would put us on the path towards a more just foreign policy, increase Canada’s standing in the global community, and rehabilitate our international reputation after losing another bid for a seat on the United Nations Security Council.
Sincerely,
Bianca Mugyenyi, Director, Canadian Foreign Policy Institute