Peace-building and Humanitarian Response

Haiti Donor Conference: Principles and Recommendations for International NGO Participation in Recovery, Reconstruction and Development.  A Joint Paper of NGO Platforms from Brazil, Canada, Chile, Europe, France, Spain, and the United States. (March 31, 2010)

Haiti:  Canada hosting International Donor Conference on Haiti
The human toll of the devastating earthquake in Haiti last week is just beginning to emerge.  The Government of Haiti estimates 100,000 people killed and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) approximate some 3.5 million individuals affected.  These shocking numbers only begin to tell the story of disaster.  Poverty, state breakdown, political instability, and environmental degradation, have all played their share in ensuring last week’s earthquake inflicted terrible damage. (January 19, 2010) (PDF 66 kb) 

Canada's Humanitarian Donorship: A Working Paper
The paper examines issues of volume, timeliness, flexibility and the extent to which funds for humanitarian assistance are allocated according to needs.  The working paper presents the perspectives and priorities of Canadian humanitarian agencies vis-à-vis Canada’s humanitarian donorship and its consistency with the spirit of the Good Humanitarian Donorship principles. As a working paper, it is open for review and is intended  to stimulate discussion. (November 2009) (PDF 232 Kb)

Fragile Peace in a Volatile World:
What Role for Canada in Supporting Peace Processes?

Synthesis Report – Policy Seminar June 10, 2009 – Ottawa ON (PDF 248 Kb)

Breakout Group recommendations – June 22, 2009 (PDF 134 Kb)

On June 10, 2009 CCIC helda one-day seminar and strategizing meeting with civil society organizations,  academics, and conflict resolution practitioners to develop a shared policy agenda for strengthening Canada’s role in supporting peace processes.  The draft agenda and background materials are available on CCIC's website.
  
Promoting an Inclusive Peace:
A Call to Strengthen Canada's Peace-Making Capacity
This series of four discussion papers examines Canada's experience in supporting peace processes and calls for Canada to do more to support global peace-making efforts. Part One explores why Canada and other donors should support peace-making efforts. Part Two examines the Canadian policy landscape to support peace processes and peace-building. Part Three called Peace and Justice in Northern Uganda provides good practice and lessons learned from the Juba Peace Talks between the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) and the Government of Uganda. Part Four calls on Canada to re-commit to supporting peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo and provides an overview of recent peace initiatives in the DRC. Research for this series of papers has been supported by the Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation.

• Introduction (November 2008) (PDF 64 Kb)
• The Canadian Policy Landscape (November 2008) (PDF 82 Kb)
• Country Study:  Is Canada turning its back on the Democratic Republic of Congo? (November 2008) (PDF 159 Kb)
• Country Study:  Peace and Justice in Northern Uganda (November 2008) (PDF 134 Kb)

Is Canada turning its back on the Democratic Republic of Congo? – Peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) remains illusory, despite a number of on-going peace efforts. Unless the international community, including Canada, remains engaged, the country runs the risk of being subsumed by violence, according to a report released by the Canadian Council for International Co-operation (CCIC). (PDF 157 Kb) (November 12, 2008)

Canada in Afghanistan

In the context of the international conference on Afghanistan that takes place this week in London, CCIC is calling for increased  focus on security and protection of civilians; effective socio-economic development; accountable governance and democratic institutions; and dialogue and reconciliation. Read the letter that was sent to Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Canon to this effect. (January 27, 2010)

Growing Insecurity for Civilians in Afghanistan: What Canada and NATO Need to Do 
Aid in the Crosshairs: Civil-Military Relations in Afghanistan, a CCIC briefing note, documents the growing insecurity experienced by Afghan civilians and aid workers and points to the perceived association between international military forces and civilian aid efforts as a key cause. It recommends measures Canada and like-minded allies can take to enhance civilian security, humanitarian access, development effectiveness and peace-building and reconciliation. (briefing note) (April 1, 2009)

Letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper on the eve of the Strasbourg NATO Summit (3-4 April) (PDF 17 Kb) (March 26, 2009)

Afghanistan:  A Study on the Prospects for Peace calls on the international community to support peace efforts – Is peace in Afghanistan possible? Findings released today in Afghanistan: A Study on the Prospects for Peace, show that a number of nascent peace efforts are, in fact, already underway. These peace efforts, however, are disconnected and lack support from the international community. (March 2008) (PDF 178 Kb)

• Executive Summary (PDF 27 Kb)
• Op-ed: Aid as a Combat Tool? A Very Bad Idea (November 28, 2007)
• Letter to the Independent Advisory Panel on Afghanistan (November 2007)
• Briefing Paper: Submission to the Independent Panel on Afghanistan (November 2007)
• Release: Canada's Independent Advisory Panel on the Afghan Mission  (October 12 2007)
• News Release: Back to Basics: Reshaping Canada’s Mission in Afghanistan (October 2007)
• Briefing Note on Better Development (October 2007)
• Briefing Note on More Diplomacy (October 2007)
• Briefing Note on Real Security (October 2007)
• Backgrounder on Aid Commitments (September 2007)
• Afghanistan Facts and Figures 2007 (September 2007)