Mélanie Joly targets political polarization in UN speech

Photo: Richard Drew Associated Press Minister Mélanie Joly told the UN that liberal democracies must reclaim the word “freedom,” which she said is being used to propagate hate speech and justify Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Dylan Robertson – The Canadian Press in Ottawa

Posted at 1:06 p.m.

• Canada

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly has called on United Nations members to counter growing political polarization.

Joly was addressing the UN General Assembly on behalf of Canada on Monday after the annual meeting of leaders and ministers in New York.

The Canadian minister said countries must work together to uphold rules on sovereignty and human rights or the world will slide toward more crises like those in Haiti and Afghanistan.

She also said liberal democracies need to reclaim the word “freedom,” which she said is being used to propagate hate speech and justify Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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Ms. Joly also reiterated Canada’s position on Middle East issues, criticizing in particular the Israeli government for opposing the possible creation of a Palestinian state.

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She also said it is “unacceptable” that the UN has not been led by a woman in its nearly eight decades of existence.

“The Lebanese people deserve to live in peace”

For his part, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau used a call Sunday with Lebanon’s interim Prime Minister Najib Mikati to reiterate that “the Lebanese people deserve to live in peace” and call for a ceasefire in the Middle East.

According to a summary of the conversation provided by the Prime Minister’s Office, Mr. Trudeau expressed concern about the “devastating consequences” of recent events on civilians in Lebanon, where more than 1,000 people have been killed in the wake of an escalation of tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.

“The Lebanese people deserve to live in peace and security and should not have to bear the consequences of the actions of Hezbollah, a terrorist organization,” Mr. Trudeau said during his call with Mr. Mikati, noting that the past few days have been trying for Canadians with family in Lebanon.

Hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah escalated nearly two weeks ago, when walkie-talkies and pagers used by Hezbollah exploded across Lebanon. The explosions triggered an intensification of airstrikes between the two sides.

In addition to the hundreds of deaths, tens of thousands of Lebanese have been forced to flee the south of the country at the request of the Israeli military. The exchanges of fire also forced evacuations in Israel.

According to Lebanon’s health minister, Israeli strikes have so far killed more than 1,030 people, including 156 women and 87 children, in less than two weeks.

Ceasefire request

In response to the escalation of fighting, Canada and several of its allies called last week for a 21-day ceasefire. In his call with Lebanon’s interim prime minister, Mr. Trudeau reiterated this request.

“Prime Minister Trudeau reaffirmed Canada's commitment to continue working with the international community to advance peace in the region, as demonstrated by his call for an immediate 21-day ceasefire on the Lebanese-Israeli border,” reads a summary of the discussion between the two leaders.

On Saturday, Canada announced it would provide $10 million in humanitarian assistance to civilians in Lebanon. This funding will be in addition to the $10 million already allocated to the Lebanon crisis by the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund, to which Canada is a donor.

With The Canadian Press and reporting from The Associated Press