Foreign Minister Melanie Jolie called on the international community to fully comply with the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war in Ukraine.
Jolie and her UK counterpart Liz Truss wrote an article this week describing the problem. In an interview with Rosemary Barton Live on Sunday, she said sexual violence was not getting the attention it deserved, both because of a sense of taboo and because it was difficult to investigate.
“We know that women and children are being used as weapons of war, armed and are being used by Russian forces to put a lot of pressure on the Ukrainian people,” Jolie told CBC chief political correspondent Rosemary Barton.
“This is extremely worrying because we know that sexual violence is a permanent trauma.”
WATCH Foreign ministers call attention to the issue of sexual violence in Ukraine:
The women and children are armed by Russian forces, the Canadian Foreign Minister said
Chief political correspondent Rosemary Barton talks with Foreign Secretary Melanie Jolie about the sexual violence allegedly used as a weapon of war in Ukraine and the work she and her UK counterpart, Liz Truss, are doing to bring those responsible to justice. 7:46
Ukrainian women reported widespread attacks and sexual assaults by Russian soldiers.
As part of awareness-raising pressure, Canada is signing the Murad Code, a new code of conduct developed by Nadia Murad, an Iraqi human rights activist and Nobel laureate, for engaging responsibly with survivors of sexual violence and the pursuit of justice.
“Like anti-personnel mines, like chemical weapons, we need to make sure that there are more international norms governing this issue,” Jolie said. “We need to make sure that we put this issue in the spotlight, that this is something that is being discussed.”
The foreign minister said Canada would work with the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court and other institutions to document and investigate cases of sexual violence.
“Important” for starting the embassy in Kyiv: Joly
Jolie also noted the state of diplomacy when it comes to the war between Russia and Ukraine, days after Canadian and allied officials left the G20 summit while the Russian delegation spoke. Deputy Prime Minister Christia Freeland said this week that the G20 could not function with Russia at the table.
“What I said was that I would not be sitting at the same table [Russian foreign minister] Sergei Lavrov, “Jolie said, but also noted that other G20 countries do not share the same position.
“Of course, as head of diplomacy in Canada, I believe in diplomacy, I believe in ensuring that there can be peace talks, but Canada’s role now is to support Ukraine,” she said.
Jolie also said it was “important” to reopen the Canadian embassy in Kyiv, as some other countries were planning, and the government was studying scenarios to make it happen.
Information war is intensifying: Canadian commander-in-chief
Canadian diplomats are currently in neighboring Poland, where Canadian troops have also recently been deployed to help the country cope with the millions of refugees who have flooded its borders since the Russian invasion began in late February.
The commander of the deployment is Vice Admiral Bob Auchterloni, the commander of the joint operations, said in an interview on Sunday that the troops were helping both in the humanitarian crisis and as a NATO partner.
Asked about the risk of a potential escalation of the war and NATO intervention, Ochterloni told Barton that the main goal remained “to avoid a conflict with Russia”.
WATCH The Canadian commander discusses the challenges of the war in Ukraine:
How the Canadian military is fighting Russian disinformation
Rosemary Barton spoke live with the Commander of the Joint Operations Command of Canada, Vice Admiral Bob Auchterloni, about his concerns about the surveillance of Canadian troops in Poland and what he observed on the spot and online. 8:13
Austerloni stressed the threat of misinformation during the war in Ukraine, saying Russia was using military power, diplomatic pressure and information warfare to achieve its goals.
“It is convenient for us to talk about conflicts in the field of land, sea and air – this is also happening in cyberspace, it is happening in space and it is happening in the field of information,” he said.
Auchterloni, who was among 61 Canadians banned from entering Russia this week as part of a series of counter-sanctions, noted increased cyber activity from Russia long before and during preparations for their invasion of Ukraine.
“You have governments that are now using the cyber domain on the brink of war to continue their own cause,” he said.
The military commander praised Ukraine’s actions in the fight against the information war, but also noted that “I do not want to say that this will upset the balance in the war.”
WATCH The Mariupol resident discusses his escape from the war-torn city:
“It is very difficult to process what is happening,” said Mariupol
Diana Berg, a resident of Mariupol, Ukraine, who fled to Lviv, reacted to the latest news of devastation outside the city. Appearing live in Rosemary Barton, she said some of her friends and family are still trapped in Mariupol. 6:28
You can watch full episodes of Rosemary Barton live CBC Gem, the CBC streaming service.
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