Trudeau en route to Senegal for final stop of UN campaigning in Africa

DAKAR, Senegal — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is en route to Senegal for an official visit with one of Canada’s closest francophone partners in Africa.

Trudeau’s visit will include a meeting with President Macky Sall and a moment of reflection at Goree Island, which was once a final African stop for some of the slaves being taken to the Americas.

Dalhousie University political science chair David Black, who studies Canada’s role in sub-Saharan African, says Senegal and Canada have long-standing links, mostly through their shared French language, that Trudeau can build upon.

Black notes Senegal is not without some significant human-rights challenges — homosexuality is illegal and punishable by up to five years in prison for example — but it’s considered one of the most stable democracies on the continent.

The visit will test Trudeau’s commitment to women’s empowerment and human rights as he looks to gain support from Sall for Canada’s bid for a temporary seat on the United Nations Security Council.

During a three-day visit to Ethiopia over the weekend Trudeau appeared reluctant to publicly raise the issue of human rights and democratic violations with African leaders he met.

Gender-based violence is a significant problem in Senegal, which only last month made rape a criminal offence. The international anti-poverty ONE campaign wants Trudeau to raise the issue of gender-based violence with Sall.

Jacqueline O’Neill, Canada’s first ambassador for women, peace and security, is accompanying the prime minister in Africa. Her new job was created to advance the Liberal government’s feminist foreign policy.

O’Neill has helped craft policies on gender and security in NATO, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, and the United Nations. She also co-founded the Romeo Dallaire Child Soldiers Initiative, which tries to end the use of children in armed conflict.

Trudeau completed a whirlwind visit to Kuwait this morning with a meeting with the country’s head of state, Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 11, 2020.

The Canadian Press