Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly highlights opportunities for collaboration between Japan and Canada on women, peace, and security

On November 7, 2023, the Peacebuilding Program of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation (SPF) co-hosted an event at the Embassy of Canada entitled “Canada and Japan as Partners to Advance Women, Peace and Security in the Indo-Pacific Region,” welcoming a distinguished panel of speakers, including Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly. The event featured discussions about how Japan and Canada can work together to better support the inclusion of women in the field of peace and security, successful examples of integrating gender considerations into policy as demonstrated by Canada, as well as future challenges facing both countries in the face of conflicts around the world.

To open the main session of the event, SPF President Atsushi Sunami gave remarks describing how SPF has developed its approach to supporting the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda based on extensive work in the field focusing on peacebuilding, particularly in the Deep South of Thailand. 

“The WPS agenda is one of the key initiatives we’re implementing because we realize its importance based on our experience in the field. When it comes to promotion of the WPS agenda, we also believe that men’s engagement is critical,” he explained. He also expressed his commitment to the promotion of WPS in Japan, including through support of the WPS Parliamentary Caucus established last year as well as coordination with relevant agencies, including the Embassy of Canada.

Throughout the event, she outlined the transformative power of Canada’s integration of a gender lens in its policies. She noted that Canada, as the second country in the world to implement a feminist foreign policy, seeks to position the rights of women and girls as a core aspect of its diplomacy, from humanitarian aid to trade. 

She also outlined Canada’s Gender-based Analysis Plus program, which evaluates spending by the Canadian government based on inputs including the potential impact on women and girls. She cited economic successes due to this policy approach, including providing daycare for 10 dollars a day, supporting greater participation by women in the work force, as well as a robust recovery and economic growth after the COVID-19 pandemic. 

After the opening speeches, Minister Joly was joined by Dr. Maiko Ichihara, professor at the Graduate School of Law in Hitotsubashi University, for a panel discussion moderated by Akiko Horiba, senior program officer of SPF’s Peacebuilding Program.

During the discussion, Dr. Ichihara, whose expertise covers democracy and human rights, noted that excluding women from political decisions reinforces existing gender divisions and subjects vulnerable populations to the devastating impacts of conflict and violence, stymying progress.

“By not having women in policy processes, we actually strengthen the existing power structure in the society. Women are not a minority in terms of numbers, but we remain so in terms of the power structure,” she explained, arguing that it is critical “to make sure that women are the subject of polices but also the actors of polices as well.” However, she also pointed to challenges with implementing a feminist foreign policy in northeast Asia as well as challenges posed by pushback from authoritarian governments.

On this point, Minister Joly also noted that women continue to face barriers to entry in security fields not only on the military and peacemaking side, but also in political roles. As one example of providing support to women to overcome these barriers, Minister Joly brought up her personal experience as a female foreign minister, saying that she and her colleagues often cite statements by other women foreign ministers in meetings to ensure that their perspectives are not lost or coopted by other members.

The event concluded with a lively Q&A session with the audience, with discussions covering ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, Canada’s commitment to the Indo-Pacific region, and the future direction of the relationship between Canada and Japan.