Canada to contribute toward conflict prevention and resolution initiatives in Africa

Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien today announced that Canada has decided to contribute toward conflict prevention and resolution initiatives on the African continent.

"Following the example of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the Canadian government is of the opinion that concentrating on prevention is better than picking up the pieces after a conflict, at both the human and economic levels," said Mr. Chrétien, who outlined the details of the decision at the 6th Francophone Summit in Cotonou.

Canadian participation will help the Organization for African Unity to fine-tune its new mechanism to prevent, manage and resolve conflicts, by way of training and technical support programs, among others. Canada will also support activities generated by the political segments of la Francophonie, as well as sub-regional conflict prevention projects.

A series of Canadian proposals was prepared at the end of the Meeting on Conflict Prevention, a Canadian government initiative that took place in Ottawa last September under the banner of la Francophonie worldwide.

Following through on these proposals, la Francophonie may engage in preventive diplomacy in the form of meetings among Francophones to support the process of national reconciliation already under way in Burundi. La Francophonie may also sponsor meetings to review the new conditions of security and stability in the countries of Africa, thereby promoting dialogue and the search for solutions to the new security problems.

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