INTERNATIONAL: Not Out of Africa

Former Canadian diplomat Robert Fowler thinks Canada has lost its way in the world, rejecting grand Liberal era foreign policy in favour of narrow strategies.

Invited to address the Liberal Party of Canada's thinkers conference last weekend in Montreal, Fowler blasted the governing Tories for abandoning Africa.

When Canada hosted the G8 leaders summit in 2002, then- Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chretien charged Fowler with the responsibility of organizing the agenda, which focused on developing a new economic partnership with Africa. From the perspective of a diplomat who had dedicated his professional life to addressing Africa's many problems, the summit must have seemed like a high-water mark in Canadian foreign policy.

The former diplomat has certainly earned the right to speak his mind. While serving as the special envoy of the secretary general of the United Nations to Niger in 2008, Fowler and Louis Guay, a fellow Canadian diplomat, were kidnapped by an Islamist group associated with al- Qaida. The Harper government secured their release last year.

Despite Fowler's vast and sometimes horrific diplomatic experiences, his critique of Canada's foreign policy isn't convincing for a couple of reasons.

First, he seems to view recent history through rose-coloured glasses. Yes, Chretien did move Africa to the top of the international agenda. But he only did so near the end of his time in office in a transparent attempt to build a foreign policy legacy. For most of his time as prime minister, Chretien eschewed formulating a grand foreign policy strategy, concentrating instead on managing Canada-U. S. relations and opening up trade with China.

Second, it is untrue that the Harper government has abandoned Africa.

Without a doubt, Canada is delivering foreign aid to fewer countries in Africa. Rather than spreading development assistance across the continent, the Harper government has chosen to target specific countries.

For example, Canada continues to play a significant role in efforts to ease the tremendous human suffering in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where an ongoing bloody conflict has killed an estimated 5.4 million people since 1998.

According to the United Nations Commission for Refugees, there are 2.1 million internally displaced persons in eastern Congo. To help save lives, the Canadian International Development Agency provided $8.4 million in humanitarian assistance and food aid to the DRC in 2008.

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the DRC, known by the French acronym MONUC, has deployed the largest peacekeeping force in history to the French-speaking country. In 2008-2009, Canada contributed $36.1 million to the UN mission.

One of the most shocking facts about the conflict in Congo is the pervasiveness of sexual violence. Since the conflict began, hundreds of thousands of women and children have been raped and sexually mutilated by rebel militias and rogue Congolese soldiers.

Canada has taken a leading role in attempting to curb the sexual violence in the DRC. For instance, Canada's ambassador to the UN raised the issue during a special Security Council debate in 2008. And this country sponsored Resolution 1820, which requires "the immediate and complete cessation by all parties to armed conflict of all acts of sexual violence against civilians with immediate effect." The resolution, the first of its kind, was unanimously adopted by the council.

In addition, the Harper government has contributed $15 million to a multilateral initiative to assist rape victims in the DRC and to prevent further sexual crimes.

Canada also actively promotes peace in the Great Lakes Region of Africa. Canada co-chairs the Group of Friends of the Great Lakes Region, which helped to facilitate the establishment of a regional security and development pact in December 2006.

While it is true that the Harper government has abandoned the scattergun approach to foreign aid of previous Liberal governments, Canada continues to play a constructive international role in the world today. But the future is much less certain.

As the federal government struggles to reduce the largest deficit in the nation's history, Canadian foreign aid will have to become even more focused if Canada hopes to continue to make a difference in Africa.