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Canada’s National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security 2017-2022 - Royal Canadian Mounted Police - Progress report for fiscal year 2017-2018

Through the renewed Canada’s National Action Plan (the Action Plan) on Women, Peace and Security (WPS), the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) re-affirms and strengthens its commitment to advance gender equality and the participation, empowerment and protection of women and girls in the pursuit of peace in fragile and conflict-affected situations.

The Action Plan recognizes Canada’s role in ensuring that its policies, programs, and initiatives abroad positively impact the diverse groups of women and girls living in these insecure environments. Similarly, the RCMP’s contribution to the Action Plan 2017-22 acknowledges that the security of women and girls is closely linked to broader international security, and therefore, women and girls must be considered and empowered in the establishment of global peace and security.

Rcmp and the International Police Peacekeeping and Peace Operations Program

Context: The Canadian Police Arrangement (CPA), a partnership between the RCMP, Global Affairs Canada, and Public Safety Canada, seeks to advance Canadian foreign policy, as well as international security and development priorities and objectives. In particular, this includes supporting Canada’s commitments to re-engage with the United Nations (UN) and other international partners, and building a more secure world by providing Canada’s valuable policing capabilities and expertise through the deployment of Canadian police officers and civilian law enforcement experts abroad. The CPA was renewed in 2016 until the end of FY 2020/21, with annual funding of $46.9 million until the end of FY 2018/19.

The RCMP is responsible for managing the CPA deployment mechanism – the International Police Peacekeeping and Peace Operations (IPP) Program. This Program’s key activities include the recruitment, screening, selection, preparation, training, deployment, support and reintegration of Canadian law-enforcement personnel deployed under the CPA, as well as deployment planning, assessment, and reporting. The RCMP also provides duty of care support to Canadian law-enforcement personnel while in mission, and during their reintegration home.

The IPP Program deploys Canadian law-enforcement personnel to various international peace operations; international criminal courts, tribunals, commissions and enquiries; bilateral missions; short-term training and rapid response activities; as well as to multilateral institutions to support the development of international policy, standards and norms related to police peace support operations.
The IPP Program supports and advances a broad array of WPS-related efforts, such as increasing the number of Canadian women deployed to peacekeeping operations, training women police in foreign countries who are interested in serving on UN missions; raising awareness of and investigating sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), and contributing to gender-related policy initiatives at the UN and other multilateral forums.

Civil society has an important role to play in the renewed Action Plan. The CPA and IPP program will continue to engage with civil society through various mechanisms throughout its implementation.
The departmental report covers the period of April 1, 2017 to March 31, 2018. For every target, it provides a high-level snapshot of the progress achieved to date, outlines completed activities, and analyzes results and progress. It is worth noting that some of the targets, activities, and indicators have been updated since their first publication in order to better capture progress, clarify language, and reduce redundancies.

Priorities

Strengthen Governance and Accountability

1.1 Target: 100% of reporting and assessment tools (e.g. needs assessment missions, concepts of operations, reconnaissance missions, and monthly reports) include WPS principles and gender perspectives.

Progress achieved to date as of March 31, 2018:  On track/Internal efficiency & capacity

  • Assessment and reporting tools have been drafted with Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA+) considerations and are currently being finalized.

Baseline:

Activity:

Indicator:

Completed Activities:

  • A survey of female Canadian police officers to identify potential barriers and facilitators to women’s participation in policing has been drafted.
  • Assessment and reporting tools have been drafted with GBA+ considerations and are currently being finalized.

Results and Progress: The RCMP is fully committed to advancing the WPS agenda through its activities and initiatives. The organization recognizes the importance of advancing gender equality and the participation, empowerment and protection of women and girls in the pursuit of peace in fragile and conflict-affected situations.

A formal tracking mechanism to capture all work supported by the RCMP WPS Champion will be created in FY 2018/19 to allow for more complete reporting against the indicator: Number and nature of WPS-related activities and initiatives supported by the RCMP WPS Champion including completion of gender stock-taking exercise, review of training and development of an integration plan. Examples of WPS-related activities that were supported in FY 2017/18 include a gender stock-taking exercise that examined reporting tools and processes, as well as the development of pre-deployment training materials. Results from the gender stock-taking exercise will be more fully analyzed next fiscal year, and changes to reporting tools and training materials may be made. In addition, the RCMP drafted a survey of Canadian female police officers to identify potential barriers to and facilitators of women’s participation in policing, which will be launched next fiscal year. Based on findings from this survey, an action plan to support women’s participation will be developed in FY 2018/19.

During the reporting period, the IPP program began the process of reviewing its assessment and reporting tools. These tools have been drafted with WPS principles, gender perspectives and GBA+ considerations and are currently being finalized. Reporting on this indicator will begin in FY 2018/19.

1.2 Target: Implementation of strategic initiatives for diversity and inclusion across the RCMP.

Progress achieved to date as of March 31, 2018: On track/Internal efficiency & capacity

  • Consultations have taken place with partners regarding strategic initiatives for diversity and inclusions.
  • Draft Terms of Reference have been prepared.
  • The process is under way to identify representatives from each RCMP division who will bring a diversity of perspectives.

Baseline: Enhancing gender equality and diversity at all levels is a key RCMP priority. Recent initiatives related to gender and respect include the establishment of an RCMP Gender and Diversity Champion and efforts to raise the knowledge and implementation of GBA+ within the RCMP. Additional activities to be identified by the end of FY 2018/19.

Activity:

Indicator:

Completed Activities:

  • Consultations have taken place with senior champions responsible for Indigenous, Visible Minorities, Women, Persons with disabilities, and LGBTQ2SFootnote 1 issues, and the five Employment Equity national advisory committees.
  • Draft Terms of Reference for the new National Council for Diversity and Inclusion have been prepared.
  • Nomination process is under way to identify representatives from each RCMP division who will bring a diversity of perspectives.

Results and Progress: The RCMP is implementing several initiatives that are part of the draft renewed Diversity and Employment Equity plan. These include use of a business intelligence dashboard to enable improved understanding of representation gaps, enhanced analysis of workforce statistics to enable evidence-based decision-making, an overhaul of the section of the RCMP Administration manual covering Employment Equity and the special measures program, and awareness initiatives that support a more diverse and inclusive workplace. The draft 2017-20 plan will be finalized by the new National Council for Diversity and Inclusion once it is in place.

The new National Council will contribute to an improved consultation process, and will help to identify systemic issues affecting full participation of designated groups in the workplace. Consultations have taken place with senior champions responsible for Indigenous, Visible Minorities, Women, Persons with disabilities, and LGBTQ2S issues  and the five Employment Equity national advisory committees for improvements to the committee structure in order to ensure that linkages between the National Council and the divisional diversity and employment equity committees. The RCMP Terms of reference have been drafted and nomination process has been identified. It is anticipated that the National Council will hold its first meeting in early fall 2018.

Enhance capability to undertake WPS and gender analysis in the design and planning of gender-sensitive programming

2.1 Target:   Within three months of their employment, 100% of IPP program personnel are required to take GBA+ training as defined by operational requirements.

Progress achieved to date as of March 31, 2018: ON TRACK/Internal efficiency & capacity

  • Mechanisms to track compliance will be formalized in FY 2018/19.

Baseline: The Status of Women Canada (SWC) GBA+ online course is a mandatory requirement for IPP program management and IPP program personnel are also encouraged to complete it. While there is general awareness of the WPS agenda within the program, there are few resources on how WPS principles and gender considerations are to be applied when designing and planning programming.

Activity:

Indicator:

 Completed Activities:

  • The RCMP made the GBA+ online course a mandatory requirement for all IPP program personnel.

Results and Progress:  The GBA+ online course is a mandatory requirement for IPP. The RCMP will continue to work on integrating GBA+ into all aspects of the international deployment cycle. Mechanisms to track compliance will be created in 2018-19.

Enhance gender-sensitive elements within police peace operations, including preventing and responding to sexual exploitation and abuse by UN Peacekeepers

3.1 Target: Enhanced ability of Canadian police officers deployed to peace operations to deliver/facilitate gender-sensitive programming in fragile and conflict-affected states.

Progress achieved to date as of March 31, 2018: Too early to report/Internal efficiency & capacity

Baseline: The RCMP provides pre-deployment training to all Canadian police officers deployed to a peace operation in order to deliver gender-sensitive programming in fragile and conflict-affected states. Pre-deployment training modules for Canadian police to be deployed include content on WPS, codes of conduct, preventing and responding to sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), and cultural awareness. Within the IPP program, work is ongoing to determine how to enhance this training. The ability of Canadian police officers deployed to undertake gender-sensitive programming could also be enhanced by providing greater technical support during deployment and by greater engagement with organizations/ministries involved in, or affected by, gender-related issues.

Activity:

Indicator:

Completed Activities:

  • As there are no formal mechanisms are in place to record the number and nature of IPP deployments where one of the primary functions is related to gender issues, we cannot comment on completed activities.

Results and Progress: Out of the 45 Canadian police deployed to peace operations, 100% received pre-deployment training on WPS-related issues.Currently, no formal reporting mechanisms are in place to record the number and nature of IPP deployments where one of the primary functions is related to gender issues for FY 2017/18. A new mechanism is to be created in FY 2018/19.During the reporting period, 10 pre-deployment training sessions for officers occurred with 62 candidates receiving the training. WPS was a subject for all of these sessions. No mechanism was in place to track the extent to which technical support and expertise was provided to deployed officers on gender-sensitive programming.

3.2 Target: Continued work with CPA partners to implement UN zero-tolerance policies on SEA in peace operations resulting in zero cases of sexual exploitation and abuse by peacekeepers.

Progress achieved to date as of March 31, 2018: ON TRACK/OBJ 2

  • 0 substantiated cases of sexual exploitation or abuse in peace operations, perpetrated by Canadian police during FY 2017/18.

Baseline: The RCMP and its CPA partners strongly support the UN’s zero tolerance policy on SEA and treat all allegations of SEA or other misconduct within peace operations seriously. The RCMP also has a zero-tolerance policy on SEA by Canadian police officers in mission, and is actively engaged in preventing and responding to allegations. RCMP measures to prevent SEA include informing Canadian officers of its zero-tolerance policy prior to and during pre-deployment training in Canada, requiring officers to sign a letter prior to deployment agreeing to abide by the policy while deployed,  as well as establishing an obligation to report, and providing training on conduct, discipline, SEA and other related matters.

Activity:

Indicator:

Completed Activities:

  • The RCMP collaborated with Global Affairs Canada and contributed to the development of Canada’s Strategy and Action Plan to address Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in UN peace operations.
  • The RCMP developed online training modules that are available for all police being deployed to UN peace operations prior to attending pre-deployment training in Ottawa.

Results and Progress:  The IPP program supports zero-tolerance policies on SEA in peace operations, and promotes the implementation of international human rights, crime prevention and criminal justice standards relevant to protecting the rights of women and girls. The RCMP forbids sexual relations with the local population of the site to which they are deployed, due to the difference in real or perceived power and authority. All deployed personnel are informed of this policy prior to and during pre-deployment training in Canada, and each individual must sign a letter agreeing to refrain from sexual relations with the local population of the site to which they are deployed.The RCMP, together with the Canadian Police Knowledge Network, developed online training modules that are available for all police being deployed to United Nations peace operations prior to attending pre-deployment training in Ottawa. During the pre-deployment training in Ottawa, the RCMP also provides an in–class, mission-specific session, on the differential impact of conflict on women and girls, and on SGBV, in addition to covering cultural awareness and code of conduct and ethics. This training reinforces Canada’s commitment to upholding the highest standards of police conduct in missions; Canada’s commitment to being transparent and accountable for the actions of deployed police; and the fact that Canada takes all allegations of SEA or other misconduct within peace operations extremely seriously.Although there were no substantiated cases of SEA in peace operations perpetrated by Canadian police in FY 2017/18, one case was brought forward at the end of FY 2016/17 that is still under investigation.

Continue to focus on deploying women police officers in international peace operations and missions

4.1 Target: 20% of deployments to peace operations under the IPP program, including in senior and/or influential positions, are composed of women.

Progress achieved to date as of March 31, 2018:  MOSTLY ON TRACK/OBJ 5

  • 8 out of 45 or 17.8% of Canadian police officers deployed to a peace operation were women.
  • 2 female Canadian police officers in the EU Coordinating Office for Palestinian Police Support mission in the Middle East were assigned the position of Strategic Planning Team Leader.

Baseline: The RCMP recognizes that the participation of Canadian women police officers is paramount to the success of international police peace operations and missions. The IPP program aims to meet or exceed the UN target of having 20% women police officers in peace operations. A survey to determine the opportunities and barriers related to women’s participation is under development. The results of this survey will inform the development of an action plan to identify and address barriers impeding the active and meaningful participation of women in international police peace operations.

Activity:

Indicator: 

Completed Activities:

  • The RCMP continued to strive to deploy more women to peace operations.

Results and Progress:  During the reporting period, 8 out of 45 Canadian police officers deployed to a peace operation were women. This equates to 17.8%. Due to the downsizing of the Haitian deployments, fewer deployment opportunities were available.The IPP program recognizes the importance of female Canadian police officers holding senior, strategic positions within peace operations. In missions abroad, two female Canadian police officers in the EU Coordinating Office for Palestinian Police Support mission in the Middle East were assigned the position of Strategic Planning Team Leader.

4.2 Target: Continued collaboration with the UN, police contributing countries and other partners to foster the participation of women in peace operations.

Progress achieved to date as of March 31, 2018: ON TRACK/OBJ 5

  • Canada trained 47 female candidates through the UN All Female Pre-Selection Assistance and Assessment Team (SAAT) training projects during FY 2017/18.

Baseline: Through various mechanisms, the IPP program supports the UN and other partners in increasing the number of women police deployed to international operations. For instance, since 2014, Canada has deployed Canadian police instructors to the UN’s All-Female SAAT training projects in Benin, Guinea, Niger, Togo, Rwanda, Burkina Faso, and Cameroon, as well as to a similar training project for men and women in Colombia. These projects are aimed at helping increase the number of women police officers from these countries who are selected to serve on UN peacekeeping missions by preparing candidates to meet UN testing requirements. Additional activities to be determined by the end of fiscal year 2018/19.

Activity:

Indicator:

Completed Activities:

  • Canadian police officers supported SAAT training projects in Senegal.
  • Canadian police officers provided training on SGBV in Haiti and Ukraine.

Results and Progress:  The IPP Program is committed to continued dialogue with the various partners and stakeholders on WPS-related matters to further inform and support activities under Action Plan 2017-2022. It intends to contribute to various interdepartmental meetings and discussions with civil society, including the Action Plan Advisory Group and the Peace and Stabilization Operations Program (PSOPs) Advisory Board, to support the development and integration of gender-sensitive programming, and to sharing of lessons and practices. A formal mechanism will be developed in FY 2018/19 to track the number and nature of initiatives to train and/or support women from foreign countries to participate in international peace operations. Examples of this type of work that occurred in FY 2017/18 are listed below.Canadian police officers travelled to the Republic of Senegal to provide UN with SAAT training projects. This training aims to prepare female police officers to qualify for participation in UN peacekeeping operations. Canada helped train 47 candidates during FY 2017/18.Training provided in Haiti included sessions on gender mainstreaming and SGBV, as well as gender and violent crime workshops. Training in Ukraine also included a focus on SGBV. As part of the Ukraine mission, the RCMP also participated in working groups on gender violence and law enforcement, cooperated with the OSCE on the Ukrainian-led project POLINA that targeted domestic violence, and supported the gender focal point project at the EU Advisory Mission for Ukraine.

Rating scale for achievement of targets

Rating 0 - Too early to report: We launched a new initiative the reporting fiscal year. We cannot report on progress.

Rating 1  - Attention required: Our efforts are not on track to achieve the target by the end of action plan/specified date.

  • Experiencing serious problems and intervention is required to ensure the target will be met by the end of action plan/specified date.

Rating 2 - Mostly on track: Our efforts are mostly on track to achieve the target by the end of action plan/specified date.

  • Experiencing manageable problems and minor attention/intervention is required to ensure the target will be met by the end of action plan/specified date.

Rating 3 - On track: Our efforts are on track to achieve the target by the end of action plan/specified date.

  • Normal procedures/level of effort is sufficient to achieve the target by the end of action plan/specified date.

Rating 4 - Target achieved or surpassed: We achieved or surpassed the target by the end of action plan/specified date.

Date Modified: