Montreal, Canada – Human rights advocates are accusing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s authorities of deceptive the general public over weapons gross sales to Israel, which have come beneath higher scrutiny amid the lethal Israeli bombardment of Gaza.
At subject is laws that prohibits the federal government from exporting army gear to overseas actors if there’s a threat it may be utilized in human rights abuses.
But regulatory loopholes, mixed with an absence of readability over what Canada sends to Israel, have sophisticated efforts to finish the transfers.
Dozens of Canadian civil society teams this month urged Trudeau to finish arms exports to Israel, arguing they violate Canadian and worldwide legislation as a result of the weapons might be used within the Gaza Strip.
But within the face of mounting strain since Israel’s warfare on Gaza started on October 7, Canada’s overseas affairs ministry has tried to downplay the state’s position in serving to Israel construct its arsenal.
“Global Affairs Canada can confirm that Canada has not received any requests, and therefore not issued any permits, for full weapon systems for major conventional arms or light weapons to Israel for over 30 years,” the division instructed Al Jazeera in an electronic mail on Friday.
“The permits which have been granted since October 7, 2023, are for the export of non-lethal equipment.”
But advocates say this misrepresents the whole quantity of Canada’s army exports to Israel, which totalled greater than $15m ($21.3m Canadian) in 2022, in line with the federal government’s personal figures.
It additionally shines a highlight on the nation’s longstanding lack of transparency round these transfers.
“Canadian companies have exported over [$84m, $114m Canadian] in military goods to Israel since 2015 when the Trudeau government was elected,” stated Michael Bueckert, vice chairman of Canadians for Justice and Peace within the Middle East, an advocacy group.
“And they have continued to approve arms exports since October 7 despite the clear risk of genocide in Gaza,” Bueckert instructed Al Jazeera.
“Unable to defend its own policy, this government is misleading Canadians into thinking that we aren’t exporting weapons to Israel at all. As Canadians increasingly demand that their government impose an arms embargo on Israel, politicians are trying to pretend that the arms trade doesn’t exist.”
Lack of knowledge
While Canada could not switch full weapons techniques to Israel, the 2 nations take pleasure in “a consistent arms trade relationship”, stated Kelsey Gallagher, a researcher at Project Ploughshares, a peace analysis institute.
The overwhelming majority of Canada’s army exports to Israel come within the type of components and parts. These usually fall into three classes, Gallagher defined: electronics and area gear; army aerospace exports and parts; and eventually, bombs, missiles, rockets and common army explosives and parts.
But past these broad classes, which have been gleaned by analyzing Canada’s personal home and worldwide studies on weapons exports, Gallagher stated it stays unclear “what these actual pieces of technology are”.
“We don’t know what companies are exporting them. We don’t know exactly what their end use is,” he instructed Al Jazeera.
Global Affairs Canada didn’t instantly reply to Al Jazeera’s query about what “non-lethal equipment” the federal government has authorized for export to Israel since October 7.
“What does this mean? No one knows because there’s no definition of that and it really could be quite a number of things,” stated Henry Off, a Toronto-based lawyer and board member of the group Canadian Lawyers for International Human Rights (CLAIHR).
Human rights attorneys and activists additionally suspect that Canadian army parts are reaching Israel by way of the United States, together with for set up in fighter jets such because the F-35 plane.
But these transfers are troublesome to trace as a result of a decades-old deal between Canada and the US – 1956’s Defence Production Sharing Agreement – has created “a unique and comprehensive set of loopholes that are afforded to Canadian arms transfers to the US”, stated Gallagher.
“These exports are treated with zero transparency. There is no regulation of, or reporting of, the transfer of Canadian-made military components to the US, including those that could be re-transferred to Israel,” he stated.
The consequence, he added, is that “it is very difficult to challenge what are problematic transfers if we do not have the information with which to do so”.
Domestic, worldwide legislation
Despite these hurdles, Canadian human rights advocates are pressuring the federal government to finish its weapons gross sales to Israel, significantly in mild of the Israeli army’s continued assault on Gaza.
Nearly 28,000 Palestinians have been killed over the previous 4 months and rights advocates have meticulously documented the affect on the bottom of Israel’s indiscriminate bombing, and its huge destruction of the enclave. The world’s high court docket, the International Court of Justice, additionally decided final month that Palestinians in Gaza face a believable threat of genocide.
Against that backdrop, eliminating weapons transfers to Israel is successfully a requirement for “Canada [to] abide by its own laws”, stated Off, the Toronto lawyer.
That’s as a result of Canada’s Export and Import Permits Act obliges the overseas minister to “deny exports and brokering permit applications for military goods and technology … if there is a substantial risk that the items would undermine peace and security”.
The minister also needs to deny exports in the event that they “could be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights laws” or in “serious acts of gender-based violence or serious acts of violence against women and children”, the legislation states.
Meanwhile, Canada can also be get together to the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), a United Nations pact that bans transfers if states have information the arms might be utilized in genocide, crimes towards humanity, warfare crimes and different violations of worldwide legislation.
But in line with Off, regardless of a rising checklist of Israeli human rights violations since October 7, Canada “has been approving the transfer of military goods and technology that might fuel” them.
Late final month, Canadian Lawyers for International Human Rights wrote a letter to Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly demanding a direct finish to the transfers. The group stated it will take into account subsequent steps, together with potential authorized motion, if motion is just not taken.
‘It takes a village’
Still, Canada insists that it maintains one of many strongest arms export management regimes on the planet.
Asked whether or not his authorities intends to finish arms transfers to Israel, Trudeau stated in Parliament on January 31 that Canada “puts human rights and protection of human rights at the centre of all our decision-making”.
“It has always been the case and we have been consistent in making sure that we are responsible in the way we do that. We will continue to be so,” the prime minister stated.
Gallagher, at Project Ploughshares, instructed Al Jazeera, nonetheless, that Canada maintains “a level of permissibility” in selecting which nations it chooses to arm, together with Israel.
“More than [27,000] Palestinians killed, the vast majority civilians; much of the Gaza Strip absolutely destroyed,” he stated, referring to Israel’s offensive. “This is obviously an operation that is not being conducted within the bounds of international humanitarian law, which should be colouring the risk assessment performed by Canadian officials.”
And whereas Canadian weapons exports to the Israeli authorities pale compared to different nations – notably the US, which sends billions of {dollars} in army assist to Israel yearly – Off stated, “Any difference is a difference.”
“It takes a village to make these instruments of death and it should make a difference if we cut off Canada’s contributions,” he instructed Al Jazeera, including that the strain on Canada additionally sends a message to different nations “potentially aiding and abetting Israel’s slaughter of Gaza”.
“If you send arms to countries committing serious violations of international humanitarian law, you will be held to account.”
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/9/demands-for-canada-to-stop-supplying-weapons-to-israel-grow-louder?traffic_source=rss
