Nearly 66 years ago, in 1946, one of my predecessors was privileged to represent Canada at the first session of the General Assembly. It is an honour to follow in those footsteps and to renew Canada’s commitment to the founding principles of the United Nations, namely, to maintain international peac…
The Government of Canada is concerned about the rising rates of chronic diseases, which are the leading causes of death in Canada.
The Political Declaration (resolution 66/2, annex) puts a priority on prevention; we have already done this in Canada. Last fall, Canada’s health ministers endorsed a d…
I would like to start by addressing my most sincere thanks to you, Madame President, as well as the delegation of Lebanon, for organizing this open debate on Haiti. I would also like to congratulate President Martelly on his electoral victory, and to wish him every success in his term of office. I w…
First, I would like to thank Germany for convening today’s open debate and to commend their leadership in protecting children in conflict.
Let me also say a few words on behalf of the Group of Friends of Children and Armed Conflict, an informal network of 38 interested Member States.
The Friends G…
Afghanistan is entering into a pivotal period, and it is likely that its long-term transformation into a secure and stable democracy will be greatly influenced by events and decisions made in the near term.
An improved security situation remains paramount to our efforts in Afghanistan. While counte…
Today, Canada found it necessary to oppose resolution 65/303, entitled “Financing of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon”. That should in no way be construed as a lack of confidence in or support for the work of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). Canada has supported and c…
As a committed member of the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) and a major donor to the Peacebuilding Fund (PBF), Canada welcomes the progress made by both institutions. As its annual report illustrates (A/65/701), the Peacebuilding Commission has evolved considerably over the course of its lifespan, w…
The Council meets today to discuss the situation in Afghanistan and the role of the international community in helping it to become more stable and secure. Strong leadership by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) is crucial in this regard. Canada salutes the continuing, comm…
Canada joins other speakers in applauding the adoption of resolution 65/265, which suspends the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya’s rights of membership in the Human Rights Council. Canada joins the rest of the international community in expressing our outrage at the appalling images from Libya of the Al-Qadha…
Before I begin, Canada wishes to join others in expressing our deepest condolences to the United States delegation on the death of Ambassador Richard Holbrooke who, as others have said, worked with such great dedication and skill to bring a better future to the peoples of Afghanistan and Pakistan. I…
Canada welcomes the draft resolution (A/65/L.51*) in support of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG). We are pleased to be among the large group of like-minded countries that, as sponsors of this important draft resolution, reaffirm their determination to fight impunity…
I wish to thank the United States for convening this open debate on conflict- related sexual violence and to say that Canada was very happy to co-sponsor resolution 1960 (2010), which was adopted today.
Canada strongly supports the Security Council’s recognition of the need to take effective measur…
The year 2010 has been one of significant challenges for the international humanitarian community. With the devastating earthquake in Haiti, extreme flooding in Pakistan and other serious disasters in Benin, Chile and Indonesia, our response capacity has at times been stretched to the limit. Working…
It is my honour to address the General Assembly today on behalf of Canada.
I would like to begin by expressing our heartfelt gratitude for Israel’s chairmanship of the Kimberley Process in 2010. In addition to the intersessional and plenary meetings, the Chair convened two extraordinary meetings in…
While the situation on the ground has remained largely calm since the Gaza
conflict, there continue to be sporadic rocket attacks on Israel emanating from Gaza, which we strongly condemn as designed to ensure the failure of the United States-led peace talks. It is important that these spoiler eleme…
On behalf of the Government of Canada, I would like to thank the United Kingdom for having convened this open debate. I also wish to express my appreciation to today’s speakers for their remarks.
We welcome the Secretary-General’s eighth report on the protection of civilians in armed conflict (S/20…
I thank the President of the General Assembly for having convened this important meeting. I also thank the President of the Security Council for having presented the annual report of the Security Council (A/65/2).
The report makes it clear that a wide variety of complex and important issues, both g…
Canada is pleased to co-sponsor the draft resolution before us on the situation in Afghanistan (A/65/L.9). Once again this year, we warmly welcome the fact that the draft resolution will be adopted by consensus, thus reaffirming the collective commitment of all the United Nations Member States to Af…
In light of the continued stalemate in the Conference on Disarmament, Canada believes that efforts to follow up on last September’s High-level Meeting must be pursued in earnest. Canada was among those States at last September’s High-level Meeting that spoke in favour of a deadline for the Conferenc…