Volume 42 Issue 1 A quarterly publication of Project Ploughshares Please click on attachment to view document:
Selling military goods to the United States
The Canadian Commercial Corporation (CCC), an independently operated Crown corporation, arranges contracts between Canadian manufacturers and foreign governments. Between 60 and 70 per cent of these contracts involve military goods, making the CCC Canada’s largest arms broker.
We need to restart talks on regulating autonomous weapons—now
To no one’s surprise, United Nations discussions on the regulation of autonomous weapons have stalled. Last year, the global pandemic caused delays, with only one week of discussions—partly in Geneva, Switzerland and partly virtual—taking place from September 21-25. November’s annual meeting of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), at which the 2021 schedule for discussions on autonomous weapons would have been set, was cancelled.
The devastating impact of COVID-19 on refugees
In 2016, Kirsten Mosey volunteered at Camp Moria on the island of Lesvos, Greece—once Europe’s largest refugee camp. Designed to house between 2,000 and 3,000 people, the former military/detention centre held approximately 20,000 refugees at its peak.
It’s not too late to save the Iran nuclear deal
Donald Trump opposed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA or Iran nuclear deal) even before he became President of the United States. Despite his hostility, the deal survived his term in office, although not unscathed. Now new President Joe Biden is cautiously optimistic that it can be salvaged. But steps to preserve the deal must be taken immediately, before the already narrow window of opportunity fully closes.
Canada and the Artemis Accords
On October 13, 2020, the Canadian Space Agency, along with civil space agencies from the United Kingdom, Italy, Australia, Japan, Luxembourg, and the United Arab Emirates signed bilateral agreements with the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Since then, Ukraine’s space agency has also signed on. These agreements are known as the Artemis Accords. The Accords set out …
The impact of COVID-19 on refugees
COVID-19 has exposed global vulnerabilities and inequalities. But the plight of refugees has not received its due. When the pandemic hit, the vast majority of refugees found themselves in countries that were experiencing instability, conflict, and economic hardship. Shut away in camps or subsisting in crowded urban areas, refugees were underserved and often ignored. With no stable income or employment …
The Safe Third Country Agreement in 2021
New U.S. President Joe Biden has used Executive Orders to overturn the most extreme immigration policies of the Trump era. But deportations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement are ongoing and immigration detention centres are still in operation. The United States does NOT meet the principles of safety required by Canadian and international law.
From safety to security: mapping the normative landscape in outer space
This map is a visualization of the existing normative landscape in outer space. Created from detailed coding of 90 space governance documents and additional expert feedback from an online survey and global series of workshops, it identifies the prevailing values, documented activities, and prescribed behaviours that currently influence practices in space.
From Safety to Security: Global Workshop Series Report
In November 2020, global space experts were invited to participate in a series of regional online workshops to identify priorities and possible next steps in the development of norms related to space-based military capabilities and activities.