The release of Global Affair Canada’s (GAC) Report on the Export of Military Goods from Canada—2017 provided the most authoritative and comprehensive account of Canadian military exports on record.
Arms sales, murder, and the illusion of firmness
While the Jamal Khashoggi murder illustrated the Saudi regime’s contempt for human rights and warranted intense media attention, it was only the latest incident in a consistent pattern of repression and human-rights violations at home and abroad.
Time for answers: Letter to Trudeau on the Saudi arms deal
The Right Honourable Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, P.C., M.P. Prime Minister of Canada 80 Wellington Street Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A2 4 March 2019 Re: Canada’s Export of Light Armoured Vehicles to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Dear Prime Minister Trudeau, The undersigned, representing a cross-section of Canadian civil society organizations focused on arms controls, human rights, international security, humanitarian assistance …
The War in Yemen: 2011-2018: The elusive road to peace
Working paper 18-1 November 2018 By Sonal Marwah and Tom Clark Executive summary The United Nations (UN) has played a key role in most recent peace processes, but has not, thus far, been an effective force for peace in Yemen, which is now the site of one of the world’s bloodiest internationalized civil …
In Saudi crisis, a legacy for Canada
A routine tweet in August from Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, calling for the release of imprisoned activists in Saudi Arabia, has presented the Trudeau government with a golden opportunity to cement its human rights legacy and to affirm Canada’s principled stand globally. The incident could mark a defining political moment for Mr. Trudeau. Published in The Ploughshares Monitor Volume 39 Issue 3 …
JCPOA: A deal undone
In a widely expected move, on May 8, U.S. President Donald Trump announced the immediate U.S. withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (Iran nuclear deal) and the imposition of increasingly stringent economic sanctions against Iran. Published in The Ploughshares Monitor Volume 39 Issue 2 Summer 2018 by Cesar Jaramillo Not once in a 10-minute address did he point to a …
Call for independent review into use of Canadian-made armoured vehicles in Saudi Arabia
A coalition of human rights and arms control groups sent a letter to Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chrystia Freeland, related to the report released by Global Affairs in May 2018 concerning allegations that Canadian-made military exports were used against civilians last year by the Saudi Arabian armed forces. The report revealed major shortcomings both in the investigation of the …
War in Yemen: A litmus test of the Arms Trade Treaty
In March 2015, following a long political crisis in Yemen in which all parties resorted to violence, Houthi rebels seized the capital Sana’a, triggering the collapse of President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi’s internationally recognized government. Hadi fled into exile. On March 24, Hadi requested external military intervention from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). A coalition of Gulf Arab states, led …
Canada and Saudi Arabia: An arms deal no matter what
Seven months after disturbing footage appeared to show Canadian-made armoured vehicles being used against civilians in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, Global Affairs Canada announced the results of the investigation it launched into the alleged abuses. Addressing the House Foreign Affairs Committee in February, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland announced that there was “no conclusive evidence” that Canadian equipment had been …
Disarming Security: Project Ploughshares and Canadian military export policy
On February 14, 2015, Ed Fast, the former Canadian Minister of International Trade, helped announce the largest advanced manufacturing contract in Canadian history. A brilliant economic achievement on paper, the 14-year, multi-billion-dollar deal promised to directly benefit 500 Canadian companies, and continue an important trade alliance with a strategic ally. The only catch was that the deal was to manufacture …