 While announcing the funding, MacKay had also expressed concerns in regards to the civil rights violation record of the country and had requested a ceasefire.On September 28, 2006, during a speech at the summit of the Francophonie, Harper called on the United Nations to take a bigger role on the conflict in order to help the "desperate".In November 2007, Canada's minority Conservative government reversed a longstanding policy of automatically requesting clemency for Canadian citizens sentenced to capital punishment.