Canada strongly believes the greater participation by women in peacekeeping will pave the way for a more enduring peace.

On behalf of the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Pamela Goldsmith-Jones, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Consular Affairs), will attend a meeting of the Women, Peace and Security Focal Points Network in Windhoek, Namibia, on April 10 and 11, 2019.

At the network meeting, the Parliamentary Secretary will highlight Canada’s leadership in advancing the Women, Peace and security (WPS) agenda with other countries and key stakeholders, including the launch last month of the Elsie Initiative Fund for Uniformed Women in Peace Operations. Discussions will prioritise the views of women peacebuilders, including best practices to implement all UN Security Council resolutions on WPS.

Prior to this meeting in Namibia, the Parliamentary Secretary also travelled to Ethiopia on April 8, 2019 to pay tribute to the victims of the Ethiopian Airlines plane crash on March 10, 2019. PS Goldsmith-Jones met with Ethiopian officials, Canadian officials involved in the consular response, and RCMP specialized personnel deployed to provide disaster victim identification support.