December 18, 2002
CANADA LAUNCHES REPORT OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION ON INTERVENTION AND STATE SOVEREIGNTY
New York, December 18, 2001 - On behalf of John Manley, Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Canadian Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Paul Heinbecker, together with members of the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS), presented the Commission's final report, entitled The Responsibility to Protect, to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan earlier today.
In his Millennium Report to the General Assembly, Secretary-General Annan challenged the international community to address the political, operational, legal and ethical dilemmas posed by the issue of humanitarian intervention. The ICISS was established by Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien at the UN Millennium Summit on September 7, 2000, in response to this challenge. The Commission, an independent body sponsored by the Canadian government, was asked to produce a comprehensive report that would assist the international community in reconciling respect for the sovereignty of states with the need to act in the face of humanitarian crises.
The Commission, composed of distinguished leaders from around the world, conducted an intense process of internal deliberations and public debate over the course of their one-year mandate. Consultations with experts and officials were held in Beijing, Cairo, New Delhi, Geneva, London, Maputo, Moscow, New York, Ottawa, Paris, Santiago, St. Petersburg and Washington.
"Canada is pleased to present the work of the Commission to the international community today," said Ambassador Heinbecker. "I am confident that the thoughtfulness of this report, with its clear political and practical focus, provides a solid basis for advancing this issue within the UN system. It is a landmark document and the Government of Canada looks forward to carrying this work forward."
"The basic argument made in the report, reflected in the title, is that sovereign states have a responsibility to protect their own citizens from avoidable catastrophe," said Gareth Evans, ICISS Co-Chair. "However, when they are unable or unwilling to do so, that responsibility must be borne by the broader community of nations."
"We are pleased that the Commission has been able to advance the debate and broaden the scope for consensus," said ICISS Co-Chair Mohamed Sahnoun. "As the Secretary-General has said, we want no more Rwandas. We believe that the adoption of our proposals is the best way of ensuring that."
The members of the Commission are Gareth Evans, President of the International Crisis Group and former Australian Foreign Minister, Mohamed Sahnoun, Special Advisor to the UN Secretary-General, Gisele Cote-Harper (Canada), Lee Hamilton (U.S.), Michael Ignatieff (Canada), Vladimir Lukin (Russia), Klaus Naumann (Germany), Cyril Ramaphosa (South Africa), Fidel Ramos (Philippines), Cornelio Sommaruga (Switzerland), Eduardo Stein (Guatemala) and Ramesh Thakur (India).
Designed to build on and complement previous efforts in this area, the foundation for the Commission's work was the vast body of already existing academic research and governmental and specialist reports, together with original research produced by the ICISS research directorate, under the leadership of Thomas Weiss from City University of New York and Stanlake Samkange, a lawyer from Zimbabwe and former UN staff member, with contributions from international scholars and specialists. This body of research has been compiled and published as a companion volume to the report entitled The Responsibility to Protect: Research, Bibliography, Background.
Throughout its year-long mandate, the Commission's efforts have also been supported by the Canadian government, which provided the Commission's Secretariat and has committed to lead follow-up efforts within the UN over the course of the coming year.
The Government of Canada, together with the Commissioners, is particularly grateful to Donor Foundations that provided funding in support of the Commission's work, specifically: the Carnegie Corporation of New York; the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation; the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; the Rockefeller Foundation; and the Simons Foundation. Financial contributions were also received from the governments of the United Kingdom and Switzerland.
For further information on the work of the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty, please visit our Web site at www.iciss-ciise.gc.ca.
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For further information call:
Debra Price
Canadian Permanent Mission to the UN
(212) 848-1100