Hussein Hoballah
Federal Minister of International Development Ahmed Hussen visited the Middle East ahead of the 4-day truce which started on November 24th. Asked by Sada al-Mashrek about the level of action taken by the Government of Canada to help to stop the war on Gaza and provide aid for Gazans, Minister Hussen says the government has worked “continuously and is seeking to do more” to get the parties of the conflict to respect the international humanitarian law and to make way for life-saving necessities into Gaza.
Efforts are still being made to get Canadians out of Gaza and Lebanon, and “the necessary preparations” are being made in Lebanon in case any evacuation of Canadians is deemed necessary in the future,” Minister Hussen tells Sada al-Mashrek.
Here’s the full interview:
Would you please tell us about the recent visit you made to the Middle East?
Yes, there’s been a lot of work done by Minister Melanie Joly and I to go to the region and to take part in a number of meetings to really push on a number of issues. One is, of course, to continue to advocate for the evacuation of the Canadians from Gaza. There’s a number of them who have been evacuated, but the goal is to continue that work so we can evacuate all Canadians who wish to leave Gaza. The second is to advocate for the protection of civilians and make sure that humanitarian aid is going into Gaza to provide life-saving food, medicine and water for the innocent civilians in Gaza.
You announced that you were sending financial aid to Gaza, and you wanted to make sure that Hamas would get none. Have the funds reached the people of Gaza yet, and how well have they been used there?
Some of the aid has reached Gaza through our trusted international partners, including UN agencies and organisations like the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), as well as Canadian agencies that work together. Our funding has enabled some of that money to get some aid in. Of course, we need to get more aid in, as not enough aid is getting in. But, absolutely, our humanitarian assistance is getting through to Gaza. However, I must emphasize that we need way more trucks and more unimpeded access into Gaza.
Sending more help to Gazans is hard while the attacks are still going on from Israel. What can Canada do - how could it help to stop these attacks against Gazans? After all, Canadians are asking for a ceasefire, while the government is asking for a humanitarian pause. How can we help Gazans to avoid all of these atrocities being committed there?
Well, I believe, in addition to calling for a sustained humanitarian pause, our government has called for maximum restraint to be used by the parties in the conflict, to make sure that the civilians are protected. Our focus has to be on the lives of the innocent civilians, both the Israelis and the Palestinians, to make sure that the people are protected, and we’ve consistently, from the beginning, called for the respect of the international humanitarian law.
The problem is that the international law is not respected by Israel, and the more aid you give doesn’t help stop that. Is there a way Canada can play a role to stop the killing of people? It might be said that Hamas is killing on the other side, but it’s disproportionate; the death toll among innocent Palestinian civilians has reached 12,000 or 13,000, with children making around 6,000 of them [until the time for this interview]. Isn’t it about time for a ceasefire?
As I said, it’s very unfortunate to hear about the numbers of civilians. We continue to demand that the international humanitarian law be respected. We urge the involved parties to exercise maximum restraint and be really careful about civilians, and we’re calling for a humanitarian pause so Canadians can get out, humanitarian aid can get in, and civilians in this conflict could be protected. Even war has rules, and we expect all parties to respect the rules and to abide by the international humanitarian law, and that’s what Canada will continue to fight for and advocate.
Are there still Canadians stuck in Gaza? How many? And how can you help them to get out?
Yes. We’ve been able to ensure that a few hundred Canadians have been able to get out of Gaza through the efforts of civil servants who’ve been working very hard both in the region and beyond. We have to keep working because there’s still a few more hundred Canadians who are still stuck in Gaza and would like to leave as soon as possible.
You said you wish Canada could provide more aid to the Gazans. What is preventing Canada from supplying more aid to the Gazans now? The aid you provided to Ukraine has surpassed a billion dollars, while we see that what’s been given to Gaza amounts to $50 million dollars approximately. Why isn’t Canada even giving more help to the people of Gaza?
We were the first Western country to announce and provide aid for the civilians in the region, including Palestinian civilians. An initial donation amounting to $10 million. We then increased that to $60 million. Then we launched a matching fund, which I’m happy to report to you. That matching fund has raised almost $14 million dollars, and we’ll match that, for a total of almost $28 million dollars. So, our government has been very clear from the very beginning that we’re going to provide much needed aid to the innocent civilians that are caught in this. We’ll continue to look at the needs, but equally important is the access. Minister Joly and I have been calling on the parties, including the Israeli and Egyptian governments and all the other parties in the conflict - to provide the Gazans with unimpeded humanitarian access for food, water, medicine and other life-saving essentials. We have been working with many agencies in the region and others in this pursuit. At the end of the day, we can advocate for that access, and that’s what Canada can do.
What can you tell us about the help the Canadian government could give to the Lebanese Canadians in Lebanon now?
We’re providing enhanced consular and other supports to Canadians and their families, as well as permanent residents. We have, of course, issued travel advisories. We are discouraging all Canadians from travelling to Lebanon at this time and urging Canadians and permanent residents to leave Lebanon as soon as possible, while they’re able to do so through commercial means. The situation is very tense, as you know, and we, at the same time, are preparing those things necessary in the region to be ready for any possible evacuation. Before we get there, we need to make sure we are ready for any possible evacuation in the future, and we’re urging all Canadians now who are in Lebanon to leave. Those who are unwilling or unable to leave at this time should register with the Canadian Embassy and do everything that they can to make sure that they let the Canadian mission know their whereabouts. They should as well renew their passports if their passports are expired, and they should do those kinds of things.
According to the last update by Global Affairs Canada, more than 17,000 Canadians are registered in Lebanon. After you called on Canadians to leave Lebanon, do you know how many have left, or is this number still accurate?
We’re tracking that number though it changes from day to day. Some people are listening and leaving, and we continue to urge all Canadians and permanent residents to leave Lebanon while the commercial flights are still available. It’s really important for them to do so now. If the need comes for an evacuation, of course the government of Canada will be there to help all Canadians and permanent residents and their families.
Lebanon’s Al-Akhbar, a daily Arabic newspaper, reported that Canada requested authorisation for an aircraft that landed with arms at Beirut International Airport on the 25th of October. The newspaper said it was filled with sniper rifles with night-vision scopes, silencers, detonators and ammunitions. Al-Akhbar also said that the Embassy of Canada to Lebanon made the requisition to the Lebanese Ministry of Defence on October 21st, which was signed by Colonel Gino Chrétien and showed a list of hazardous substances to make way for evacuating Canadian citizens. What comment would you like to make here?
I will not comment on a specific issue like that. I think that it’s important to verify the facts and analyse those statements before I comment on them.
* Photo: By Sada Al-Mashrek