Canada follows through on commitments to advance women, peace and security agenda with third national action plan

June 16, 2021 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada

The Honourable Marc Garneau, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today issued the following statement following a meeting of Cabinet ministers with Canadian and international leaders on Canada’s national action plan on women, peace and security:

“In 2017, Canada launched Gender Equality: A Foundation for Peace; Canada’s National Action Plan 2017 to 2022 for the Implementation of the UN Security Council Resolutions on Women, Peace and Security. This second national action plan guides Canada’s efforts to advance the women, peace and security agenda. For the first time, this plan provided a framework for a cohesive, whole-of-government approach and called upon 8 federal departments and 1 agency to work together to implement this important agenda.

“Today, I hosted a crucial discussion on our action plan with Canadian and international leaders, as well as the Honourable Karina Gould, Minister of International Development; the Honourable Harjit S. Sajjan, Minister of National Defence; the Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness; the Honourable Maryam Monsef, Minister of Women and Gender Equality and Rural Economic Development; the Honourable Carolyn Bennett, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations; the Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Indigenous Services; the Honourable Marco Mendicino, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship; the Honourable David Lametti, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada; the Honourable Dan Vandal, Minister of Northern Affairs; Lieutenant-General Wayne Eyre, Acting Chief of the Defence Staff; and Brenda Lucki, Commissioner of the RCMP.

“We reflected on accomplishments, shared innovative practices and addressed challenges, and discussed areas needing improvement.   

“During the meeting, Canadian and international leaders shared their assessments of our progress, suggested ways to sustain and strengthen Canadian leadership and emphasized linkages between international and domestic efforts, including in the protection of Indigenous women and girls and immigration programs. We will continue to listen to and amplify the voices of women peacebuilders and feminist and women-led organizations and movements. Our work would simply not be possible without their collaboration.

“My colleagues and I reaffirmed our commitment to the implementation of our action plan. Additionally, I am pleased to announce that we committed to develop a third Canadian national action plan on women, peace and security. To ensure an inclusive process and ambitious goals, we have instructed our respective departments to initiate preparations now.

“The full implementation of the action plan remains a priority for the Government of Canada and is a cornerstone of our Feminist Foreign Policy.”

Quick facts

• Canada’s second national action plan on women, peace and security, for the period 2017 to 2022, commits Canada to:
  • increasing the meaningful participation of women and women’s organizations and networks in conflict prevention, conflict resolution and post-conflict state-building
  • preventing, responding to and ending impunity for sexual and gender-based violence perpetrated during conflicts and sexual exploitation and abuse by peacekeepers and other international personnel, including humanitarian and development staff
  • promoting and protecting women’s and girls’ human rights, gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls in fragile, conflict and post-conflict settings
  • meeting the specific needs of women and girls in humanitarian settings, including upholding their sexual rights and their access to sexual and reproductive health services
  • strengthening the capacity of peace operations to advance the women, peace and security agenda, including by deploying more women and fully embedding the agenda in Canadian Armed Forces operations and police deployments
• Implementation of the action plan is informed by an advisory group co-chaired by Global Affairs Canada and the Women, Peace and Security Network-Canada, a network of over 80 Canadian non-governmental organizations and individuals.

Associated links

• Canada’s national action plan on women, peace and security
• Canada’s national action plan on women, peace and security: Progress reports