Canada says global order facing ‘rupture, not transition’

UNITED NATIONS — The international order is undergoing “a rupture, not a transition,” Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand said Saturday, warning that major powers are retreating from economic cooperation and increasingly challenging national sovereignty.“The tide has turned in the global order,” Anand told the 81st UN General Assembly, saying economic integration is being dismantled while respect for state sovereignty — a cornerstone of the UN Charter — is increasingly under strain.Anand said Canada would respond by pursuing greater “strategic autonomy,” reducing its dependence on any single partner while expanding relations with both longstanding and new partners.Ottawa will also seek issue-based coalitions with small states, middle powers and major powers to address shared challenges while continuing to strengthen the broader multilateral system, she said.Anand said Canada would pursue what she described as “values-based realism” and work with other middle powers to help shape the emerging international order.“Though some would build higher walls and retreat from international engagement, we believe that long-term partnerships are the way to prosperity and security,” she said.Turning to Canada’s foreign policy priorities, Anand reaffirmed Ottawa’s support for Ukraine and NATO, closer ties with Europe and greater cooperation with Arctic partners.She also pledged a continued Canadian presence in the Indo-Pacific and deeper economic relations with India and China.Canada is seeking new opportunities in the Gulf and Latin America while expanding trade ties with Africa, Anand said. On Haiti, she welcomed preparations for elections while acknowledging continuing security challenges.She also condemned Iran’s regional actions and said Tehran must never acquire a nuclear weapon.On Israel and Palestine, Anand said both peoples have a right to self-determination and reiterated Canada’s support for a negotiated two-state solution.She said Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are illegal under international law and constitute an obstacle to peace, pointing to Canada’s decision to restrict trade in goods from Israeli settlements.Israeli military and settler attacks in the occupied West Bank have intensified since the Gaza war began in October 2023. At least 1,206 Palestinians, including 254 children, have been killed, about 13,350 wounded and more than 24,600 arrested during that period, according to Palestinian figures.The United Nations has repeatedly affirmed that Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories are illegal under international law and has warned that settlement expansion undermines prospects for a two-state solution.