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Developing norms for enhanced security in outer space: Process and priorities
May 12, 2022This document reflects research and analysis conducted by Project Ploughshares Senior Researcher Dr. Jessica West and Gilles Doucet of Spectrum Space Security on how the existing normative framework in outer space can serve as a basis for informing the development of additional norms of behaviour for security-related activities.
Regulating new tools of warfare: Insights from humanitarian disarmament and arms control efforts
March 24, 2022As the tools and methods of warfare continue to evolve, it is critical that arms control, disarmament, and normative regimes also advance. Warfighting applications of today’s emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), outer space, and cyber capabilities are becoming more apparent andhold enormous potential for expansion if left unregulated. Such capabilities clearly have the potential to be used in harming civilians, violating international humanitarian law, and creating unpredictable and even unintended escalation of conflict. In this context, compliance with existing arms control measures and humanitarian principles is essential. Yet new arms control frameworks are also needed to mitigate these risks and maintain global commitments to disarmament.
Norms for Outer Space: A Small Step or a Giant Leap for Policymaking?
March 18, 2022Space is increasingly critical to modern life on Earth. But there is growing concern that, as it becomes more economically and strategically important, tensions between different space actors are heightening in a manner that could lead to conflict. The accelerating proliferation of counterspace capabilities, as well as the enactment of national policies that deem space an operational or warfighting domain, underlines the very real nature of threats that exist and highlights the importance of keeping space peaceful.
The Ploughshares Monitor: Spring 2022
March 15, 2022Volume 43 Issue 1 A quarterly publication of Project Ploughshares Please click on attachment to view document:
Arms control in outer space: Status, timeline, and analysis
March 14, 2022Contrary to popular imagination, outer space is not a “Wild, Wild West” of lawlessness. Human activities in outer space are governed by international law, including the United Nations Charter, international humanitarian law (IHL), and, most critically, the 1967 Outer Space Treaty (OST), which sets out broad principles on how states are to conduct themselves in this domain, including commitments to registration, due regard, responsibility, liability, and non-contamination.
Statement on Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine
February 24, 2022Russia’s illegal military incursion into Ukraine poses a grave threat to international security, undermines the rules-based international order, and endangers the lives of millions of civilians. It also risks escalating into a wider conflict, with devastating consequences in Europe and beyond.
What kinetic ASAT testing tells us about space security governance
February 17, 2022The testing of kinetic anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons and the debris that they produce are currently garnering global attention and concern. This is partly because of the November 2021 ASAT test conducted by Russia; partly because of our expanding use and dependence on outer space; and partly because of the accelerating development, testing, and demonstration of kinetic ASAT capabilities.
On Canada’s provision of arms to Ukraine
February 15, 2022On Monday, February 14, Prime Minister Trudeau announced that Canadian officials had authorized $7.8-million worth of arms transfers, described as “lethal equipment and ammunition” to Ukraine. The transfers are to include “machine guns, pistols, carbines, 1.5 million rounds of ammunition, sniper rifles, and various related equipment.”
Restoring Canada’s arms control and disarmament credentials
January 27, 2022More than a year and a half after Canada’s unsuccessful run for a seat on the UN Security Council, shortcomings in Ottawa’s arms control and disarmament agenda remain prominent. As the international community continues to face multiple, overlapping security challenges at the start of 2022, the federal Cabinet installed last October has a fresh opportunity to take stock of Canada’s foreign policy priorities.
Open Letter to the Prime Minister: Ongoing Weapons Exports to Saudi Arabia
December 13, 2021The undersigned, representing a cross-section of Canadian labour, arms controls, antiwar, human rights, international security, and other civil society organizations, are writing to reiterate our continued opposition to your government’s issuance of arms exports permits for weapons destined to Saudi Arabia. We write today adding to the letters of March 2019, August 2019, April 2020 and September 2020 in which several of our organizations raised concerns about the serious ethical, legal, human rights and humanitarian implications of Canada’s ongoing transfer of weapons to Saudi Arabia. We regret that, to date, we have received no response to these concerns from you or the relevant Cabinet ministers on the matter. Critically, we regret that Canada finds itself in violation of its international arms control agreements.
The risk of diversion in the arms transfer cycle: 3 factors to consider
December 9, 2021Under the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), special care must be taken to ensure that arms exports are not diverted from their intended use or user. Yet intentional and unintentional instances of diversion remain common and constitute a key challenge to the ATT regime.
The Ploughshares Monitor: Winter 2021
November 29, 2021The Winter 2021 issue of Project Ploughshares quarterly publication.
Comparing National Positions on Military Exports to Saudi Arabia
October 18, 2021Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest importer of weapons and the global north—in particular, the United States, the United Kingdom, and France—its main supplier. And this trade is growing. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Saudi arms imports for the period 2016-2020 were 61% greater than imports for the prior five-year period.
Charting the way forward: Examining the principles of responsible use of military AI by Canada’s allies
September 28, 2021There is a growing global consensus that all AI technology should exhibit the characteristics of transparency, justice and fairness, non-maleficence, and privacy. While a specific blueprint of responsible AI in defence applications has not yet emerged, shared commitments to reliable technologies that operate with an appropriate role for human judgement and experience are increasingly accepted.
The Ploughshares Monitor: Autumn 2021
September 15, 2021Volume 42 Issue 3 A quarterly publication of Project Ploughshares Please click on attachment to view document:
SPECIAL REPORT: “No Credible Evidence” – Canada’s flawed analysis of arms exports to Saudi Arabia
August 11, 2021Click on the image to download the Special Report by Amnesty International Canada and Project Ploughshares. Introduction The Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), a multilateral international agreement aiming to regulate international ...