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Note from the Editor - Argentina's New President
Rachel Schmidt
Argentina now has its first elected female president, surely a significant milestone in a region historically dominated by machismo. Yet the fact that Cristina Fernández de Kirchner—Argentina’s incoming president and wife of the current president—is a woman has not been raised as a significant issue in the media. In fact, very little has been made of her gender, and this alone might be taken as progress: perhaps it is so acceptable to have a female president that it is no longer newsworthy on its own. Perhaps we have moved forward so that the key issues are about the candidate’s potential and her policies, not her gender.
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Haiti: Putting Gender and Peacekeeping into Practice
Nadine Puechguirbal
February 2004: President Aristide is forced to leave Haiti after weeks of riots and violent confrontations. A Transitional Government is formed and the UN Security Council votes Resolution 1542 (2004) that authorizes the deployment of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). Among other things, the peacekeeping mission has the mandate to accompany the Transitional Government throughout an electoral process expected to bring back a certain political stability.
Today’s multidimensional peacekeeping operations encompass a wide range of activities such as civil affairs, human rights, elections, child protection, disarmament, demobilization and reintegration, in addition to more visible military and police operations. Furthermore, the UN Security Council, in its adoption of Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (2000), “expresses its willingness to incorporate a gender perspective into peacekeeping operations, and urges the Secretary-General to ensure that, where appropriate, field operations include a gender component.” But what does this resolution mean in practice?
Do Common Law Traditions Conflict with the UN Declaration on Indigenous Rights?
Anthony Knox
On September 13, 143 countries voted in favour of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (the “Declaration”). Four countries—Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United States of America (the “Four”)—voted against it and 11 countries abstained from voting. On the face of it, the Declaration appears to be the kind of non-binding statement of human rights principles that liberal democracies such as the Four might normally be assumed to support. As each of the Four is a common law country, is there something in this type of legal system that would make voting for the Declaration more difficult for countries of the common law tradition?
The 2007 Leader’s Summit: Progress is Still too Slow
Perrin Beatty
On August 21, the “three amigos” concluded the 2007 Leader’s Summit hosted by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Montebello, Quebec. In the weeks leading up to the summit, some questioned whether bringing together Prime Minister Harper, President Bush, and President Calderon could achieve anything tangible. In fact, this question has dogged the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) since its launch in March 2005. The Leader’s Summit brought commitments on a number of North American priorities for Smart and Secure Borders, further regulatory cooperation, enhancing counterfeiting and piracy protection, and developing environmental technologies. Many of these initiatives had been called for by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. To start, the development of Smart and Secure Borders through a plan to facilitate cross-border commerce and coordinate the movement of goods and people during a border incident is critical to the smooth functioning of the border during and after a crisis. It also facilitates movement of critical goods, including medical supplies and emergency equipment, during a pandemic or even a terrorist attack.
Cuba’s Future: The Missing Variable
Racquel Smith
On September 6, FOCAL’s Afro-Latino Program and the Centre for Developing Area Studies (CDAS) at McGill University convened two panels of eminent experts on Cuba to assess the economic, political and civic ramifications of the evidence of race-based inequality in Cuban society. The meeting was entitled “Afro-Cubans and Economic Development: What Role for Strategic Policy and Civil Society?” The experts at the roundtable discussion represented a unique diversity of professional and academic backgrounds and conceptual, even ideological, lenses. Four of the seven panelists were from Cuba and the meeting included participants from Canada, the United States, Australia and the Caribbean. They weighed various aspects of historical and contemporary Cuban society, economy and institutions for their impact on race and gender equality in the island.
FOCAL Hosts Haitian Senators
Leslie Fillion-Wilkinson
On October 29-31, FOCAL hosted a delegation of six senators from the Republic of Haiti on their visit to Ottawa and Montreal. The delegation, led by senate vice-president Madame Edmonde Beauzile, travelled to Canada on a fact-finding mission to meet senior government officials, parliamentarians and decision makers. The trip demonstrates Haiti’s recent gains in political stability and signals the upper house’s renewed engagement toward its governing responsibilities. The senatorial trip to Ottawa and Montreal followed a similar visit to Washington, D.C. in early October. In recognition of Latin America’s growing engagement in Haiti, the delegation plans to visit Brasilia, Santiago and Mexico City in the near future. The visit was a private initiative by the senators who enlisted FOCAL’s expertise to organize and coordinate both the Canadian event and their upcoming trip to Mexico.
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Round Two: Guatemala's Presidential Election
An Indigenous Diplomatic Mission
New U.S. Policies Towards Cuba
Active Democracy Network Moves Forward
Anti-Drug Plan for Mexico