The
parliamentary delegation of the Canadian Branch of the Assemblée
parlementaire de la Francophonie (APF), having participated in the meeting
of the Political Committee of the APF held in Yaoundé, Cameroon on 7 and 8
April 2010, has the honour of submitting its report.
Consisting
of Mr. Bernard Patry, MP, the delegation was accompanied by Mr. François Michaud,
administrative secretary of the Branch.
The
following branches were represented at this meeting: Belgium/French
Community/Wallonia-Brussels, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon,
Canada, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, France, Gabon,
Jura, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Quebec, Senegal, Switzerland and Togo.
The official
ceremony began with welcoming remarks by Mr. Hilarion Etong (Cameroon),
senior deputy speaker of the National Assembly and president of the Cameroon Branch
of the APF, on behalf of the speaker of the National Assembly of Cameroon, Mr.
Cavaye Yeguie Djibril. Mr. Etong thanked the president of the Republic of
Cameroon for his attention to the organization of this meeting and for his
commitment to the APF and its values of democracy, human rights and dialogue of
cultures or, as Mr. Etong added, dialogue of differences.
By way of
introduction, the Committee chair, Mr. André Schneider (France), thanked
the Cameroon Section, its president and the speaker of the National Assembly of
Cameroon for the warm welcome given to the Committee delegates. He mentioned
that the APF’s attachment to Africa was aptly demonstrated by its threefold
presence on that continent in 2010, i.e. in Chad (Bureau), in Cameroon (Political
Committee) and in Senegal (Annual Session).
Commencement
of proceedings
The agenda
and the minutes of the last meeting of the Committee were adopted unanimously.
For
information, chairperson Schneider summarized his activities as chair, as well
as those of the Committee, since July 2009.
Ms. Françoise
Fassiaux-Looten (Belgium / French Community / Wallonia-Brussels) summarized
her participation in the International Conference on Benchmarking and
Self-Assessment for Democratic Parliaments, held in Paris from 2 to 4 March
2010, and answered a few questions.
Political
situations in La Francophonie
Mr. Bongnessan
Arsène Yé (Burkina Faso), replacing Ms. Paulette Oyane-Ondo (Gabon),
presented the report. Mr. Yé mentioned that the APF is an attentive observer of
democratic practices and of rights and freedoms in La Francophonie, and in that
sense plays an active “democracy watch” role.
Mr. Yé said
that this report is traditionally devoted to crisis situations making recent
political news in La Francophonie, and in particular to review of the latest
developments in countries whose parliament has been suspended within the APF.
The
Committee adopted positions on political situations within La Francophonie.
These statements concerned the following countries: Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea,
Madagascar, Niger, Mauritania, Comoros, the Sahel-Saharan region, and
Guinea-Bissau. The Committee also adopted a statement on Haiti.
The
statements adopted in the wake of discussions are available on the APF website
at www.apf-francophonie.org (in French only).
The
administrative secretary general of the APF, Mr. Jean-Luc Lala, gave a
brief presentation on what the Secrétariat général is doing about Haiti,
including with the OIF.
Mr. Bernard
Patry returned to the situation in Haiti, in particular the resolution
adopted by the Bureau in February 2010, and expressed a desire to emphasize the
reconstruction of its parliamentary institutions. He wondered whether the
debate on Haiti to be held in Dakar would not be more profitable and productive
if a few members of the APF went to Haiti to prepare a substantive discussion.
He also emphasized the importance of establishing desirable and necessary
cooperation with other parliamentary associations (the Inter-Parliamentary
Forum of the Americas, the Inter-Parliamentary Union, etc.).
Relations
with the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF)
Committee
Chairperson Schneider mentioned the presence of Ms. Christine Desouches and
thanked her for her contribution.
Ms. Christine
Desouches, political advisor to the secretary general of the OIF, described
the activities of the Secrétariat général of the OIF, including the “Bamako
+10” follow-up.
Ms.
Desouches presented the 2010-2013 programming of the OIF, and in particular
mission B (i.e., one of the four missions of the OIF’s decadal strategic
framework, with the following themes: Promote peace, democracy and human
rights). Francophone doctrine holds that protection of democracy, human rights
and development are key to peace. The programming has three key themes:
democratic governance, law and justice, and building peace and human security.
Ms.
Desouches then spoke of Bamako +10. Point 1 placed the Bamako +10 process in
context and cited its issues; Point 2 cited its purposes and expected results; and
Point 3 addressed its methodology and timetable.
Ms.
Desouches added that the objective of the Bamako Declaration was for La
Francophonie to move forward together. While there is no universal model, the
members of La Francophonie share common values which they must strive to put
into practice in accordance with the respective characteristics of each member
of the organization.
Mr. Bernard
Patry congratulated the OIF for its work and wondered what impact the
budget cuts would have on mission B programming.
Protection
of rights and freedoms in the context of the struggle against terrorism
Mr. Henri-François
Gautrin (Quebec) presented his draft report.
First, the
report addressed the international protection of human rights, and in
particular the International Bill of Human Rights, the European Convention on
Human Rights, and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
Second, the
report addressed terrorism, i.e. the international treaties ratified as part of
the struggle against terrorism; what constitutes a terrorist act; and the act
of terrorism and human rights.
Finally, the
report contained a detailed discussion of infringement of human rights in the
course of enforcing anti-terrorist legislation. It discussed the right to
private property, respect for privacy, immigrants’ rights and the
non-refoulement principle, arrest and detention, the right to a fair trial, and
trespass to the person.
Mr. Bernard
Patry intervened to speak of the Anti-Terrorism Act passed by the
Parliament of Canada, thanks to a clause providing for a parliamentary review
three years after royal assent.
Natural
resources and conflicts
Mr. Bernard
Patry (Canada) presented his report, which is on a new theme for the
Committee.
The issue of
natural resources and conflicts is one that is complex and sensitive in a
number of respects. It has a direct impact on the daily lives of millions of
persons, many of them in the countries of La Francophonie. It includes
situations where the rights of persons living nearby or working on sites where
natural resources are exploited are compromised, leading to discontent and
conflicts among populations as well as violent disputes between different
factions generally inside any one country or in border areas. The main
resources and industries concerned are oil; diamond, gold, tin and coltan
mining; but also agricultural products such as cocoa and coffee.
The
Secretary-General of the UN, who is responsible for human rights and
transnational corporations, is taking a close interest in this issue. Wherever
they are located, natural resource extraction projects require that governments
and national and transnational corporations working in the sector act
responsibly by setting up and adhering to appropriate governance mechanisms.
The Canadian
mining sector is very active outside Canada. There are many companies at work developing
larger deposits all over the world, especially in Africa and South America. Two
private members’ bills on corporate social responsibility have been introduced
in the House of Commons for Canadian extraction companies operating on foreign
soil.
There were a
number of interventions in response to the report.
How to
face the demographic challenges of the 21st century
Ms. Françoise
Fassieux-Looten (Belgium / French Community / Wallonia-Brussels) presented
her report, which is on a new theme for the Committee.
The report
proposed to examine two issues: overpopulation and the grey revolution.
There were a
number of interventions in response to the report.
Preparation
for the hearing of the Secretary General of the OIF
Mr. Henri-François
Gautrin (Quebec) presented a draft question on “Bamako +10”.
Mr. Jean-Luc
Lala, administrative secretary general, presented on behalf of Ms. Paulette
Oyane-Ondo (Gabon) a draft question on security in the Sahel-Saharan zone.
Information
on the XIII Francophone Summit
The Summit
theme will be the achievements and challenges of La Francophonie. The APF will
prepare a notice to the Heads of State and Government.
Miscellaneous
questions
Mr. Henri-François
Gautrin (Quebec) presented the Quebec Branch’s plan for an international
parliamentary conference on the implementation of the Convention on the
Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, to be held
in Quebec City in February 2011.
There
followed a discussion concerning the next meeting of the Committee as part of
the XXXVI Session in Dakar in July 2010.
The
delegation also took advantage of its brief stay in Cameroon to meet with the
Canadian High Commissioner to Cameroon, His Excellency Mr. Jean Carol
Pelletier, at a working breakfast. The delegation warmly thanks the High
Commissioner and his team for his hospitality and the excellence of the
presentation on Cameroon and the region.
Objectives
The objectives of the
Canadian Branch for this activity were to present the report, which is the
product of a Branch initiative; to defend the interests of the members of the
Branch; and to maintain international ties and promote the values of the
members of the Canadian Branch within La Francophonie. This report aptly
demonstrates that these objectives have been achieved, all of which are
long-term and have the benefit of solid pre-existing foundations.
Respectfully submitted,
Bernard Patry, MP
Member of the Canadian Branch of the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie (APF)