The Axworthy years: Humanist activism and public diplomacy
It is too early for full, thoughtful reflection on Lloyd Axworthy’s impact on Canadian foreign policy. Time, deep research and careful study will measure the lasting importance of his initiatives and policy directions while Foreign Minister. Nevertheless, two monuments already stand out in the Axworthy years: humanist activism and ground-breaking public diplomacy. Axworthy’s activism has taken several forms, such as high profile ministerial and diplomatic activity to win a global ban on anti-personnel landmines in record treaty-making time, leadership to establish the International Criminal Court, world attention to war affected children, Canada’s election to the United Nations Security Council, his mission to Pakistan after the coup on behalf of the Commonwealth, his mission to post-elections Peru for the Organization of American States, as well as regular meetings with Madeline Albright and Mexico’s Rosario Green to build a North American community beyond NAFTA. Less visible activism includes a vast landscape of policy development. This policy activism, including public participation in policy making, may be the longterm legacy of the Axworthy years. Key policy developments and changes include Lloyd Axworthy’s global leadership in promoting human security. Under Canada’s leadership the UN Security Council, and even the G7, turned attention to security problems of populations, not just states. Axworthy challenged governments, foreign ministries, realist academics, and international and non-governmental organizations to recognize in policy and diplomacy the reality that individuals are often threatened and abused by their own states. Those threats sometimes pose challenges to international peace and security that must be addressed. Canada used its presidency of the Security Council to promote that idea and successfully created a coalition of like-minded governments to promote a human security perspective and policy development in international affairs. The first concrete step within this humanist activism was banning landmines, with their enormous impact on non-combatants, especially children. Follow-up policy activism includes a wide range of efforts to address the causes and effects of, as well as the solutions to, the spread and use of small arms and light weapons around the world. Again, the victims of the use of small arms are non-combatants, children and child soldiers. There has been a significant re-evaluation of sanctions policy, recognizing that sanctions often negatively affect women and children in societies far more than the original targets – pariah world governments and leaders. At the UN and in Africa, Canada has taken on the illegal diamond traders and other merchants of war and has taken up human security issues in the Americas, including the drug trade. Axworthy has promoted a major international study of the complex issues involved in humanitarian interventions. In 1