Today, the Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of National Defence, participated in the Global Coalition Against Daesh Foreign Ministers' Meeting on behalf of the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs.
At the meeting chaired by U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, 37 countries convened to mark the tenth anniversary of the Coalition and continued work to establish a way forward in responding to the evolving threat posed by Daesh, including the growth of its affiliates in Africa and Central Asia (including ISIS-Khorasan Province or ISKP).
Coalition members underscored their shared determination to continue the fight against Daesh in the Middle East, Africa, and Central Asia through military and civilian-led efforts while also recognizing the need to adapt, evolve and leverage successes to meet tomorrow's challenges. They emphasized the protection of civilians as a priority and affirmed that international law, including humanitarian and human rights law, as well as relevant UN Security Council resolutions, must be upheld under all circumstances. Minister Blair also joined others around the table in commending the Government of Iraq and the Iraqi Security Forces, as well as other partners for their leadership and sacrifice in facing this global threat.
Minister Blair reaffirmed Canada's steadfast support to the Global Coalition and highlighted Canada's commitments of over $4.7 billion since 2016. This includes military, security, stabilization, humanitarian and development assistance through the Government of Canda's Middle East Strategy. He underscored Canada's commitment with the announcement of $38.3 million to support nine new and expanded counter-terrorism capacity building projects, as well as six peace and stabilization projects in Syria and Iraq. These civilian-led initiatives work to counter and respond to the evolving global threat posed by Daesh, while establishing the conditions necessary for lasting stability and social cohesion.
Following the meeting, Ministers of the Global Coalition Against Daesh released a communiqué that includes the following priorities:
- supporting the Government of Iraq's efforts to safeguard the security, peace, and development of the Iraqi people;
- endorsing the priorities of the Coalition Stabilization Working Group, with the goal of raising and implementing $394 million for areas liberated from Daesh in Iraq and Syria;
- reaffirming their commitment to mobilize members and partners to pursue whole-of-government approaches to counter the global spread of Daesh, particularly in parts of Africa and Central and Southeast Asia. This includes denying their freedom of movement, restricting their access to financing and supporting regional stability through civilian-led programs;
- underscoring the need to enhance comprehensive counterterrorism efforts, ensuring that policies and practices are human-rights-based, blocking terrorist access to resources and financing, disrupting cross-border movements of Daesh, and protecting and assisting victims; and
- highlighting ongoing initiatives to prevent terrorists from dominating public narratives across traditional media, social media, and encrypted messaging applications, and underscoring the importance of artificial intelligence to combat terrorist propaganda and recruitment.
Since 2014, the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) has contributed to the Global Coalition and works with partners in the Middle East to set the conditions for stability and security. Under Op IMPACT, the CAF provides training, advice and assistance to Iraqi security forces and supports the Global Coalition and NATO Mission Iraq with highly skilled personnel. The CAF also supports efforts to advise Iraqi officials in building more effective and sustainable defence and security institutions and providing capabilities to regional forces.
The presence of CAF personnel in the Middle East and the capacity-building assistance programmes supports our regional partners' security forces, enhancing stability and security in the region.
Final number should be in joint communiqué
