14070: (Chamberlain) Canada wants Francophonie human rights watchdog (mention of Haiti (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

     By David Ljunggren

     OTTAWA, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Canada said on Tuesday it wanted the
creation of watchdog to clamp down on human rights abuses in the
Francophonie grouping of French-speaking nations, some of which have been
accused of serious violations.
     Denis Paradis, the Canadian secretary of state for Africa, told
Reuters he would be raising the idea when ministers from the 56-member
group gather this week in the Swiss town of Lausanne for a two-day meeting.
     Canada and France are the two main players in the Francophonie, which
in 2000 adopted the so-called Bamako Declaration, which stressed the
importance of democracy, human rights and good governance.
     A summit of Francophonie leaders in Beirut this October reaffirmed
their commitment to the declaration and vowed to penalize wrong-doers
within their ranks. How they could act is another matter.
     "We don't have a mechanism whereby if a country doesn't abide by those
principles, we can act rapidly. From my own point of view, what we need is
a kind of a quick-response team of ministers," Paradis said in an
interview.
     He said the team should be modeled on the ministerial action group set
up by the Commonwealth association of mainly former British colonies in
1996 in a bid to improve human rights among member nations.
     The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group -- which has the power to
recommend the suspension of member states -- was often beset by arguments
between wealthy and poor members, but it did assert itself by sending
fact-finding teams to probe conditions in member countries such as Nigeria,
Zimbabwe and Pakistan.
     Paradis said he envisaged a future Francophonie action group would
have the same powers, acknowledging that several member states needed to
improve their records.
     "There are some countries right now in Africa which have some
problems," he said.
     Activists have reported abuses of human rights as well as repression
of religious and press freedoms in Francophonie members such as the
Democratic Republic of Congo, Togo, Equatorial Guinea, Laos and Vietnam.
     Paradis, predicting France would agree to the creation of a rights
watchdog, said that if all went well at Lausanne a working group would be
set up to examine the next steps.
     He said the proposed group could also be sent to member states
threatened by political or military chaos, such as Ivory Coast or
Madagascar.
     "We wouldn't only conclude by saying 'This country should be suspended
or not'. (The group) could undertake positive action as well, sending
people from the Francophonie to try to get people together in some
countries," he said.
     Paradis suggested the Francophonie could help ease strife in member
state Haiti, where political tensions and violence are rapidly escalating.
     "There are eight million French-speakers in Haiti. If there is a place
on the planet where the words democracy, good governance and human rights
should apply, it's surely in Haiti," he said.