Mr. President, I said that we could not only continue but expand our co-operation. I would like to share with all of you a new theme now emerging in Canadian foreign policy, that of human security. The concept involves not just safeguarding states, but also protecting people. It considers not only conventional threats to safety and well-being, but also new variations such as drugs, the spread of small arms, child soldiers, and terrorism. It points to human rights, democracy, and human development as key building blocks for security.
Civil society contributes directly to human security.
NGOs are no longer simply pressure groups on government or consciences of society. They have become effective actors in their own right. Human security means that in relations between states, we should think first of the people themselves. That orientation can bring new approaches, as you well appreciate. Your Foreign Minister, Colonel Kikwete, personally took part in the Ottawa process to ban anti-personnel landmines.