Canada’s Support for Peace and Security

Building Peace and Security Capacity in Africa and Latin America

Canada has provided $26 million since 2005 for programs that build African capacity to conduct peace operations.

While Canada has trained 4,300 African troops in classroom-based peace operations courses, our programming is increasingly geared towards building the capacity of African national and sub-regional institutions to conduct their own training on a sustainable basis. Canada has focussed its training and financial support on the ECOWAS Centres, the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Center in Ghana, the École de Maintien de la Paix de Bamako in Mali, and the African Centre for Strategic Research and Studies in Nigeria, and has also provided support to Centres in Kenya and South Africa, for a total value of $11 million since 2005.

Canada has an active program to assist Latin American countries in building their own peace operations capacity. Since 2006, this has included $2 million for programs run through the regional training centre in Guatemala and with Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Uruguay―the principal contributors to the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), as well as to programs run by Latin American NGOs and the Organization of American States.

Through the Peace Operations Training Institute, a U.S.-based non-profit organization that provides distance learning in peace operations practices, Canada initiated and continues to support E-Learning programs for African and Latin American peace operations personnel.

In addition to Canada's assessed annual contribution to United Nations peace operations, Canada also contributes over $1 million per year in extra-budgetary funding to the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (UN DPKO) to advance projects related to peace operations, training and doctrine.



Logistical Support for Peace Operations

Canada has provided in excess of $770 million since 2006 as part of our whole-of-government response in Sudan. This includes aviation and fuel support, the loan of armoured personnel carriers, the contracting of helicopters, and donations of other vital equipment to help support the hybrid AU/UN mission in Darfur.

Strengthening Civilian Peacekeeping and Policing Capabilities

Working primarily through centres of excellence and police programs delivered by the Pearson Peacekeeping Centre, Canada is continuing to assist 15 African countries, the AU and ECOWAS to strengthen civilian and police capabilities at a total cost of $15 million since 2005. Canada trained and fully equipped three formed police units for service in the AU/UN Hybrid operation in Darfur (UNAMID). Canada has also contributed to the UN DPKO Police Division Formed Police Unit evaluation and training program for a total value of $34 million.

Canada has provided $8 million since 2005 in funding and technical assistance for the AU Peace and Security Directorate, which helps member states to prevent, manage and resolve conflicts in Africa.

Support for UN Peacebuilding

Canada has played a leadership role on the UN Peacebuilding Commission through chairmanship of the Sierra Leone country configuration since February 2009. Canada has provided strategic assistance to Sierra Leone's peacebuilding strategy, held two ministerial-level meetings at the UN to calibrate activities and mobilize resources, and contributed $1 million in democracy support and security system reform projects related to our chairmanship.

Canada is also the fifth-largest donor to the UN Peacebuilding Fund, having contributed $25 million since 2006, with a further $10 million committed over the next two years. The $350 million Fund is active in 15 countries, including Côte d'Ivoire, Haiti, Sierra Leone, Somalia, and Sri Lanka, and supports political dialogue, strengthens national capacities, stimulates economic revitalization, and re-establishes essential administrative services.

Support for Maritime Security Capacity in Africa

Canada fully supports the G8's commitments in the fight against piracy off the coast of Eastern Africa. Since 2008, Canada has deployed three frigates to participate in NATO counter-piracy operations and to escort ships contracted by the World Food Programme. Recognizing the importance of building regional capacity to counter piracy, Canada is currently finalizing a contribution of over $740,000 to a UN Office on Drugs and Crime program that will help to build capacity in the region, in particular in Kenya's judicial and penal sectors. Canada also actively participates in international discussions on countering piracy.

Stopping the Spread of Small Arms and Light Weapons in Africa

Canada's Small Arms and Light Weapons-Subregional Program for West Africa is a $2.28 million project that supports the safe collection, storage and destruction of surrendered weapons; promotes arms-for-development initiatives that support community development; and provides coordination and builds local capacity to help communities and their government partners in Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau and Guinea to carry out these initiatives. This project is part of the West Africa Peace and Security Initiative, which helps regional, national, and local organizations to keep their communities safer by strengthening their ability to carry out peace support operations and deal with the proliferation of small arms and light weapons.

Canada has also contributed $150,000 towards the development of International Small Arms Controls Standards that will help international and regional organizations and national governments implement commitments to combat the illicit trafficking and the misuse of small arms and light weapons.

Demobilizing and Reintegrating Former Combatants in Africa

Together with the World Bank and 12 other donors, Canada contributed to a multi-country program which supported the demobilization and reintegration of ex-combatants in the African Great Lakes Region. At the conclusion of the project an estimated 379,875 ex-combatants had been demobilized and 318,991 had returned to civilian life. Through this project and others, Canada has contributed a total of $24.5 million to demobilization and reintegration.

Breaking the Link Between Natural Resources and Conflict

Canada supports efforts to break the link between natural resources and conflict through the United Nations, for example by helping create an information database for sanctions, and through the Kimberley Process, an international certification scheme that seeks to ensure trade in diamonds does not fuel conflict. Canada has played an active leadership role in the Kimberley Process from its inception and provided financial support for the NGO Partnership Africa Canada, which helped to establish the process. By supporting the Diamond Development Initiative, Canada has promoted best practices in artisanal diamond mining. Through the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, Canada is advancing efforts to certify the origin and production methods for minerals including coltan and gold, as a means to curb their use in financing combatants.