Project Ploughshares is a Canadian peace research institute with a focus on disarmament efforts and international security, specifically in the areas of the arms trade, emerging military and security technologies, nuclear weapons, and outer space security.
Recent Blog Posts
Canada to support a ban on autonomous weapons
January 28, 2020The question now is what happens next and how will the mandate be implemented when UN discussions on this issue resume in June. While fully autonomous weapons systems do not yet exist, experts agree that they soon will.
Global Affairs Canada Report on Saudi Exports Puts Economic Benefits Before Human Rights
November 28, 2019A coalition of Canadian civil society organizations is deeply dismayed that Global Affairs Canada claims it has found “no credible evidence” linking Canadian exports of military equipment to human rights violations committed by Saudi Arabia. On 17 September 2019, the day Canada formally acceded to the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), the Deputy Ministers of International Trade and Foreign Affairs signed ...
Halifax Policy Lab: Future Defence and Security Challenges
Monday, November 25, 2019 Please join us for a conversation on future defence and security challenges facing Canada. The policy lab will bring together stakeholders from different sectors, including academia and civil society. Through discussions focused on the complexities of the changing security environment that result from rapid advancements in technology, we will develop possible policy responses by the Canadian government; and highlight related ethical, regulatory, political, and military implications.
At the breaking point: New report reveals weaknesses in outer space security
November 11, 2019Space activity is flourishing. In 2018, 71 countries owned satellites. Seventy-two national space agencies spent a combined $70 billion. Eleven new agencies were created or announced. Some of the 2,062 active satellites saved 2,700 lives. The satellite industry earned $277 billion, while startups secured $3 billion in private investment Key events included: The first launch of demonstration satellites for mega ...
Recent Publications
Countering 5 misconceptions about a political declaration on EWIPA
January 29, 2020The use of explosive weapons in populated areas (EWIPA), by both state and nonstate actors, has become a top humanitarian concern, given the devastating impact it has on civilian lives and livelihoods.
4 key messages on humanitarian advocacy
December 10, 2019The latest Humanitarian Disarmament Forum was held October 19 and 20 in New York City. In attendance were civil-society groups, such as Project Ploughshares, which work on arms control and disarmament concerns that fall under the umbrella of “humanitarian disarmament.” According to the Harvard Law School Armed Conflict and Civilian Protection Initiative, humanitarian disarmament “seeks to prevent and remediate the human and environmental harm inflicted by arms through the establishment and implementation of norms.”
How to keep outer space weapons-free
December 10, 2019The history of arms control in outer space reads like a success story. Outer space is one of the few domains of human activity in which the focus has been on prevention. Although military satellites that provide communications, remote sensing, navigation, and timing services once dominated space and continue to provide essential military services, their operations have long been considered peaceful. Those of us working in space security say that space is “militarized but not weaponized.”
