human right in Myanmar

we want to choose. There are some interesting caveats to that, but we won't get into that right this very second. We do want to talk about Me or Mart itself. In the past few years that have led to what we see today with the political unrest and unbalanced that we actually see there today, that is leading the United Nations Human Rights Council to actually be taking a strong look at it and to actually have a special repertoire to come and discuss what is happening in me or

Mar today. So let's go back to February one of twenty twenty one, the day of parliament was set to convene Mira. March's military detained Zoe Kil and other members of the ruling party and they handed power to the chief Meinhunyi Yi and declared the state of emergency for one year and began closing the borders, restricting travel and

electronic communications nationwide. The military announced it would replace the existing election commission with a new one, and the military media outlet indicated new elections would be held in about

one year. Through the avoiding making any official commitment to that, the military expelled the n LD party members of the parliament from the capital, and by the fifteenth of March twenty twenty one, the military leadership continued to extend the martial law into more parts of hegan while security forces killed thirty eight people in a single day of violence. By the second day, thousands of protesters were marching in the streets and the protests erupted nationwide, largely hailing commerce

and transportation. Despite the military taries, arrests, killings of protesters, the first few weeks of the coup found a growing public participation in including of the civil civil servants, teachers, students, workers, monks, and religious leaders, even normally disinfect affected ethnic minorities. The

coup immediately was condemned by the United Nations. The US threatened sanctions and military military and its leaders, including a freeze of one billion dollars in assets from the US, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Russia, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, China. UH retained criticizing the military c coup. And let's put this way, basically, the whole world was

against this military cou coup that actually happened. The outsiders looking in international development partners and non UH government and government hinted the suspension of partnerships with mir Mar. Banks were closed on social media UH communication platforms including Facebook, Twitter,

UH blah blah blah. The protesters appeared UH in miror Mar embassies in UH foreign countries, A National Unity government then declared the formation of a armed Wing UH by UH the fifth of May one, a date often cited to starting the full scale civil war, and ever since then Meanmoir has been in some state of violence or

civil war. So now we need to know what is happening with human rights and what and what other countries are actually doing to help the people themselves get back to normality, get back to what is it that they would preferred doing rather than protesting and having military violence

running up and down their streets. And this is this is where we are today and why we're We have a special repertoire from the United Nations speaking about what is happening in me, Mr okay, so along with we're going to flip this over to to Canada now, and we have Mark Karney, Prime Minister of Canada as he is speaking with Anita and non In in the background about what's happening with NATO. And of course by twenty thirty five, Canada is now promising to reach the five

percent threshold of GDP spending on national defense. Part of this is of this push to increase the NATO country stockpile is according to the ongoing threat from the Russian Federation and of course trying to protect all of the Arctic countries that would be a threat if the Russian Federation were to attempt something. We already know that they moved south and they went after, of course Ukraine, and they're saying that that they're trying to free the Dundas

region and they're trying to free Crimea. But is that really all that they're trying to do, especially with leadership under Vladimir Putin, who, for lack of words, is just trying to boluster what it is he thinks Russia should be allowed to have. Sanctions, of course, have been placed against them where there's limited sale of of resources from

Russia and back into Europe. The European Union is on board with that and working with with NATO of course to limit some of those sales in order to starve Russia of money so that they have a harder time producing weapons and supplying their army. But still conflict continues. Let's look at it at something else here just for a couple of seconds, and then we're gonna we're we're going to push forward to hear what Mark Karni had to say at NATO, and then we'll hear from the

United Nations Human Rights Council. We have two different different sides here at this point. We have one where we're trying to stop war by supplying humanitarian efforts and in order to quell the people so that they stop fighting with each other in the end the civil war. We're trying to do this through diplomacy and peaceful means. The other end of it is we're going to build a stronger military to end a war or to prevent a war from happening. Would it not be easier or would

it not be a better path? And maybe not an easier path. Maybe the easier path is actually stockpile of the military is like I'm stronger than you are, so you better not attack me kind of mentality. But a better path might be to offer understanding and to unite all of the countries around the world and some sort of a peaceful resolute that would lower the borders so that people could pick and choose where they wanted to live,

regardless of passports or anything like that. Just saying that there's got to be a better way of getting along in our world without having to flex muscle to do it in a way that shows that hey, we're open to selling our differences without throwing punches.

They differ both in their form and severity, and at the same time, Canada's own relationship with NATO is appropriately evolving. Put it in a bit of context. For over a century, For over a century, Canada has been a net exporter of security to Europe, and now with those evolving threats worldwide, the threats to our own sovereignty are becoming more acute. With increasingly open Arctic waters and rapid advancers in cyber and AI and quantum, with advanced missile capacities, we can

no longer rely on our geography to protect us. As the global landscape shifts, the collective security created by the Alliance remains the strongest and the most effective way of protecting Canadian sovereignty and protecting the security of Canadians. So, together with our allies, we must ensure that NATO remains strong, unified, and ready to confront the threats not just of today but of tomorrow. And so in this pursuit, Canada is helping to ensure that the Alliance and the peace that

it can help protect prevail. In order to do so, we must invest in our strength, because Canada's leadership must be defined not just by the strength of our values, but by the value of our strength. That's why earlier this month, Minister of Minister of Defense, the Chief of the Defense Staff, and I unveiled Canada's plan to rebuild, rearm and reinvest in the Canadian armed forces to protect first and foremost Canadians, to protect our interests, and also

to help protect our allies. In doing so, we are reaching NATO's two percent target this year. We've arrived at this summit looking forward with the plan to help lead with new investments to build our strength. This morning, Canada, or just now, I guess it went into the afternoon, Canada and our allies agreed to a new defense industrial There's a new Defense Investment Pledge which secures Canada's strategic

and security goals. As part of that, Canada has already beginning working towards a target of three and a half percent of GDP by twenty thirty five by expanding our plan to invest in the Canadian Armed Forces, to modernize our military equipment and technology, to help build up our own defense and security industries, as well as to diversify our defense partnerships.

to protect Canadians. At the core of our defense investment, of course, are the men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces, and as I speak to you today, Canadian troops are participating in NATO deterrence and defense missions across Central and Eastern Europe, as well as building capacity in the Middle East as part of Operation Reassurance Canada's leading a fourteen nation strong multi national brigade with over two

thousand Canadian armed forces in Latvia. We're working with our allies and partners across Europe to train Ukrainian soldiers who are defending their homeland from Russia's illegal and barbaric invasion. These are the women and men we are investing in the forces we will expand with new incentives and new

recruitment efforts. The Canada home folsjag monse capacity Industrial al garasan strategy, vigodos in des Patsnari Antonacio Lundi Lord the Summit, Canada Union yours nouveaux pat area, the security, the advance onto the Canada a Union in so Patnaria. In the premier they do mena a la Participation Canada Initiative AGIOU less security on the hub in the hop Sola Permetra that and nose objective raid a am goop. Canada does have enormous industrial capacity, but that will grow significantly as

our allies seek to increase their military readiness. They will buy more equipment and technology made in Canada by Canadian workers in shipyards, in labs and shop floors. Right across our country will make the drones, the icebreakers, the aerospace technology is and much more that's needed to build a more secure world.

Vala Klemlin New fhonally saw cran Do, miriad dollar On Finance, more super Montre he Knew Louis of front see upred Dollberti, SA Infra Structure Say Service to Leak Associety Seville, Canada is helping to ensure and through our discussions, I'm very pleased to discussions and how they evolved that the new NATO targets of five percent of GDP. Those new NATO's targets are tailored to address new threats and challenges, and the capabilities required to meet this moment have been the

driving factors for those targets. Importantly, the trajectory and the balance of the new NATO Defense Pledge will be reviewed in twenty twenty nine. To ensure that the commitments align with the global security landscape. Throughout Canada's history, there have been turning points when the world's fortunes have been in the balance, and each time Canada has chosen to step up to lead on the path of democracy and freedom.

we are already doing. This is about building the resilience. What do we do to build the resilience of the country. How much are we spending on our ports, on our transportation infrastructure, How much are we spending in order to develop our critical minerals. What do we do to make sure we have a resilient telecommunications system. These are things that actually we as government, both federal and provincial governments. These are responsibilities we have today to Canadians, and responsibilities

that by and large we are fulfilling. Now we're going to do a more proper accounting of that, a more strategic set of investments in that. So, yes, we'll find gaps we'll be transparent about that and we'll make up those gaps. So the overall context of the net increase in defense spending is much less than the headline from two to five. First point, very important point, but we have to show that and we have to be delivered

and strategic about it, and we will. The second thing is what happens in terms of the I'll call it the two to the three and a half that number. We absolutely need to establish the political and social to use, the social license, the public support for that. It needs to be as I indicated my remarks, including my remarks in that room. First and foremost, we are protecting Canadians. We are protecting Canadians against new threats. I wish we didn't have to, but that is but we do have

to and it is our core responsibility as government. And those threats we see them the evolving threat environment, most clearly in the Arctic, but it's also through the Arctic into Canada, and so we're taking our greater responsibilities around that. We have to be clear about what we're doing in order to achieve it. Last point, we're focused on the outcome,

the result protecting Canadians. We're driven by that not by with all due respects, sitting in the NATO building, by NATO accountants, and that's part of what's relevant for this twenty twenty nine review.

and Mar are dismal. More than sixty eight hundred people have been killed since the coup, more than twenty two thousand political prisoners behind bars, most of whom are guilty of only exercising their fundamental rights, including speaking out and participating in demonstrations opposing a brutal military juntu. Before the coup, there were three hundred thousand people internally displaced in Me

and More. Now there are more than three zero point five million, nearly one point five million refugees from Me and Mar are currently living in other countries. Nearly a third of the population of Me and Mar are facing acute food insecurity. Twenty one point nine million people are in need of humanitarian aid. As if this misery were not enough, a seven point seven magnitude earthquake struck Me and Mar on the twenty eighth of March. I was on the Thai Me and Maar border at the time

when it struck. We know that at least thirty eight hundred people were killed and more than five thousand were injured, but the true numbers are likely much much higher. More than two hundred thousand were displaced by the earthquake three months after it struck. There are many who can continue to sleep on the streets. Hunger or lack of access to water and sanitation facilities haunt many communities. They are

forced to grapple with extreme heat, drenching rains, and infectious diseases. Meanwhile, the Hunter has taken the same approach with earthquake relief that it takes to all humanitarian aid, generally block the delivery of aid to opposition controlled areas, an attempt to force all donors and agencies to deliver aid only into

its own hands. I have spoken with humanitarian workers that have been physically blocked at checkpoints and prevented from delivering aid to earthquake impacted communities, and experienced their frustration and their anger. The Hunter has reportedly evicted earthquake survivors from their shelters, leaving those whose homes were destroyed with nowhere to go. The Hunter proceeded to break a so called humanitarian ceasefire almost immediately after declaring one, and repeated the

same cynical ploy again. Meanwhile, they've been attempting to exact as much legitimacy as possible from engaging with foreign donors, covering the pages of state media with pictures of foreign aid workers posing with Hunter officials. Let me note, as I have in the past, that the Hunter needs three

things to sustain itself, money, weapons, and legitimacy. We need to do more to support the people of me and mar by denying the Hunter all three, and there will be opportunities and an obligation to do so this year. By denying any recognition of the Hunter's so called election, and I'll put that in quotes, that it is planning for later this year. UN member states should call this exercise for what it is, a charade and a fraud.

Now it is making the deepening crisis in me and Mar worse for those inside of Me and Mar and those who have fled Me and Mare.

stop in October without additional funding. Health clinics in refugee camps have shut down, leaving patients scrambling to find care or face the consequences of going without treatment. I met many refugees when I was on the border following the earthquake, including persons with disabilities needing medical treatment. I met a five year old boy who needed life saving heart surgery

and his mom. They were among the very lucky ones who were able to get access to life saving health care services, services that may very soon no longer be available. The fact is halfway through twenty twenty five, the ME and MAR Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan is only twelve percent funded. The RAINGO Humanitarian Crisis Joint and Response Plan is only twenty two percent funded.

and Response Plan was thirty percent last year. So far it is five percent this year, thirty percent to five percent. The US contribution to the Ringa Humanitarian Crisis Joint Response Plan was fifty two percent in twenty twenty four. In twenty twenty five it is six percent. US foreign assistance commitments to ME and MAR was two hundred and thirty seven million dollars in twenty twenty four, two hundred and thirty four million in twenty two hundred and thirty seven million.

share of the burden today. I believe a reasonable answer to the second question is yes, as communities or businesses who are dependent on a large source of revenue, no, it is great as long as these large sources keep up, but devastating when they cut back or worse.

by a UN member states. There has been considerable discussion here in Geneva about what is been described as a liquidity crisis of the Human Rights Council. The fact is, the Human Rights council liquidity crisis is really a political crisis. It is a leadership crisis. It is a communication crisis. It is a moral crisis. The Human Rights Council shines a spotlight on human rights and assaults on those rights. Its members express sentiments and past resolutions addressing a wide

range of human rights issues. But action as well as words are necessary. Making investments to defend human rights and fund critical aid. Establishing funding adequate funding for these critical budgets is critically important.

wise investment. Now, the fact is there are political forces that are pushing relentlessly to reject the very idea of human rights. We see this all over the globe, and they're pushing to ignore or vilify those who are victimized by brutality, to deny or dismiss the factors that drive desperation, forcing victims out of their homes, out of their villages, or out of their countries. That reject the basic idea that nations can and should work together across national borders

to save those whose lives would otherwise be lost. This is who we are at our best, and it is also in our own interest to stand up to forces that drive instability, cruelty, and violence. This is a very dangerous trajectory that we are now on. The fear card, the grievance card, the vilification card are potential political tools and weapons, and they're being used in many areas of the world. But we have seen these cards played before

and we know where their trajectory leads. The United Nations itself was created on the ashes of the devastation that these types of cards generated nearly a century ago. The downward trajectory that we are currently on will continue until leaders are willing to stand up for human rights and set priorities and budgets that reflect the best and not the worst of us. When we do what is necessary to communicate to citizens of all walks of life.

There's been a one third reduction in the flow of weapons flowing into the hands of the military hunter using the international financial system because of actions that have been taken by member states. We know how vital civil society is in me and more and will be some of those representatives of civil society will be addressing the Council

on Friday. And we know that the private sector has been stepping up as well to take action when we release the report, a report on why and how the private sector and the public sector have been providing the means by which the Hunter has been arming itself through the international financial system. Singapore took action that reduced ninety percent of the weapons flowing from Singapore into ME and more.

And in Thailand, Bankhawk Bank cut off its relationship with the Hunter controlled me and mar Economic bank that facilitates the flow of this financing and translates it into the weapons that are being used to commit gross human rights violations. These are specific actions that are extremely positive and very fruitful. And by the way, these actions don't cost money. They simply require political will. But it is a political will

that we need to generate all around the world. The stakes could not be higher.

junta has extended the ceasefire. How I mean, is there is there any sign that that things have improved on the ground in terms of of the violence or do you see them continuing air strikes if you could just talk a little bit more about that.

have been actually increasing. Air assaults have been increasing, and what we found is that as it's more and more dangerous for ground troops to be moving because of the presence of resistance forces and tactics that have been used to intercept those those those ground forces or intercept supply lines, the use of aircraft has been increasing and the use of bombing have been increasing and and and the reason that that is so devastating is not just the volume

the increase that we've been documenting, but also because of the indiscriminate nature of these of these aerial attacks and how they have been hitting schools, monasteries. We've documented that they have hit centers for internally displaced persons. I met a dad who lost his two only two children, two daughters, after he brought them to an IDP center for safety because the IDP center was was was hit. I've talked to parents whose children were injured in attacks at a school.

So this is devastating and it's increasing. The numbers are the numbers are bad, but the reality on the ground this experiences is devastating. And I also just want to put also in kind of brackets. There's a lot we don't know. It's very difficult, as I'm sure you know,

of getting information quickly and accurately. Now, we have people around the country that have been very courageous in providing us with information and testimony, but they take great risk in order to do that, and we know that the numbers that we're seeing are less than what is actually happening because of that fact.

the liquidity crisis. How do you talk to the people on the ground who are providing you with this information at great risk of themselves in light of you know, the developments that you're seeing.

not a good one. That we're not valuing these human lives, these people who are who who's taking such such risk to save their country, where we're sending them absolutely the wrong message.

that is much less secure and much less stable. You're fueling it by not making your commitments to things that can actually reduce that instability, and then you're forced to spend even more money on weapons of war to confront this insecurity and instability.

as surgery was going to determine life or death. They want that that that boy to have that surgery, you know, they they want these families to be able to to survive. They'd understand completely what happens when you've lost everything and the only hope is to gather your family together and move to safety. They'd understand this. But we need to

communicate that to people. And we need to counter this political movement, this, this vilification, this fear card, this these these forces of darkness that are descending in areas around the world.

This leads to disaster, and that's the trajectory that we are on that is why this is so dangerous. The conversations in NATO, I know are going to be are not going to include what I'm talking about, but they should, they really really should.

don't think you haven't mentioned. Now does it mean that it's regaining control and what this would mean for the future of Me and Mar and the possibility of the democracy coming back to the country.

States is that much more devastating. So the impact is that much more devastating because of the volume that we started out with with US funding. So you need to put that in context. And I think it's fair for the United States to say, well, look we've been we've been providing the world with a greater share than what we should be. There should be more balanced. Other countries should be stepping up. It's a fair argument, and we can.

five million. That is devastating, but What is made that worse is because it happened so abruptly and so chaotically, and people couldn't prepare, they couldn't make adjustments, they couldn't look to see where other resources might come from. So it was the it was the cuts and the chaos around those cuts that made things so devastating. I mean, I was there when that earthquake happened, and I was there as as the mobilization of support and aid to

desperate people was was underway. Uh, and the United States was miss missing in action when in the past it would be taking a lead in not only providing resources, but but coordinating the provision of resources.

forced military conscription program. They're they're losing, they're losing ground literally and figuratively, but they have significant resources available to them, financial resources and weapons that are being provided to them from abroad. And as long as those resources continue to flow, they're going to continue to reak significant havoc.

a legitimate civilian government. But you know, you cannot have an election when you imprison and torture and execute your opponents, when it is illegal to report the truth as a journalist, when it's illegal to speak out and criticize the hunter. And it's really important that countries reject this idea of an election and and and not allow the military hunted to to attempt to get away with this this fraud.

I mean that doesn't cost any money to do so, but it's a It would be extremely helpful if the the UN member states were to make it very clear that that this is going to be recognized not as an election but as a fraud.