Canada offers up to $8.3M in fight against ISIS

Canada will provide up to $8.3 million to Iraq and neighbouring countries to fight the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria,Foreign Affairs Minister Rob Nicholson said Thursday after closed-door meetings in Quebec City.

Nicholsonsaidthe money will help fund defence programs in Iraq, as well as supply non-lethal equipment to countries in the region, to help them secure their borders and contain the flow of foreign fighters.

"We will not stand idly by while [ISIS]and its affiliatescontinue their murderous rampage in an attempt to wreak havoc acrossthe region, spawn splinter cells from North Africa to South Asia andprey on youngsters in the West," he said.

The meeting was the second time in two monthsrepresentatives gatheredbehind closed doors to talk about how the the fight against ISIS can be improved.On June 2, an anti-ISIS coalition conference was held in in Paris.

• Rob Nicholson says it's up to Iraqi ground troops to retake ground from ISIS
• ISIS mission: Canada conducts 1st airstrike in Syria
• Australia in anti-ISIS flights over Iraq, will join airstrikes

Thursday's meeting, held at Chteau Frontenac, included representatives from countries such as Australia, Saudi Arabia, Germanyand the United Arab Emirates. It wasco-chaired byCanada, the United States and Iraq.

• Members of the anti-ISIS coalition
• ISIS mission: MPs approve Canada's air combat role

On Thursday afternoon, IraqForeign Minister Ibrahimal-Jaafaricame out of the discussions to talk to the media. Througha translator, he saidthe talks were encouraging.

"Compared to previous conferences, I have realized that this conference has come beyond sympathy and sentiment with Iraq to concrete accomplishments,"al-Jaafari said.

Al-Jaafari saidhe did not ask for ground troops but did appeal for more military support.He did not say what the coalition members have committed to.

Canada will stay involved in the anti-ISIS campaign until spring 2016.

Last March, Parliament passed a motion renewing Canada's mission to fight ISIS for another 12 months and to include air strikes in Syria aspart of its mission.

Women and girls

The conference explored all aspects on the fight against ISIS, not just military initiatives. One example includes delving into how members of ISIS treat women and girls.

"Minorities and the women and girls targeted by ISIS are not incidental victims of terror but are deliberately selected by ISIS and are even used to recruit, encourage and reward its fighters," Nicholson said in a statement earlier this week.

Zainab Bangura, United Nationsspecial representative on sexual violence in conflict, says the international community has to do more to prevent that from happening.

"The issue of sexual violence has been institutionalized by ISIS. The brutalization of women is part of their key strategy," Bangura told CBC News on the eve of theconference.

Last spring, Bangura travelled to five Middle Eastern countries to gather first-hand accounts of sexual atrocities committed against women at the hands of ISIS.

She said naked women are sold at market like cattle, with manuals on how to sell slaves and deal with them.

Bangura says women and children make up 80 per cent of the refugees in the ISIS conflict.

Bangurawas tomake recommendations to the coalition, stressing that there cannot be peace in Middle Eastern conflict zones unless women are protected too.

"That is very central because women form the core of society, all the fabric of society together and I think we've neglected it to focus more on the issue of military and other assets."

Nicholson said Canada supports efforts to prevent sexual violence in conflict zones, and is providing $8 million to the cause.

"Minorities and the women and girls targeted by ISIS are not incidental victims of terror but are deliberately selected by ISIS and are even used to recruit, encourage and reward its fighters," he said, adding that financial aid goes to local and international organizations that support victims of sexual violence.

The Canadian government says it has so far spent more than $940million in military and humanitarian assistance in the fight against ISIS.