Human rights attorneys and Palestinian Canadians are suing Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly for allegedly breaching Canada’s legal and international duties by exporting military hardware to Israel. The complaint requests that the Canadian government cease granting export licenses for military hardware and technology that is headed for Israel before a federal court. Canada is a signatory to the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty, which forbids the supply of arms to any state if it knows that the guns may be used for crimes against humanity, war crimes, genocide, or other transgressions of international law. The public’s access to information on Canada’s decision-making process regarding the export of military hardware is restricted. According to the government’s website, 50 applications for “military, dual-use, and strategic goods or technology” were turned down in 2022. Some of those were turned down in accordance with “Canada’s foreign policy and defense interests,” while others were turned down as a result of sanctions imposed on Russia.
Legal basis of the lawsuit
One of the organizations interested in the lawsuit, Canadian Lawyers for International Human Rights (CLAIHR), is a board member named Henry Off. “We are seeking to hold Canada to its own standards and to its international legal obligations,” Off stated. “We want no part of Gaza’s widespread famine and bombing to come from the Canadian government. Cutting off Canada’s military funding for Israel is one method to stop its contributions, Off stated. Since the Israeli military began a military incursion in the Gaza Strip on October 7 that has resulted in the deaths of over 30,000 Palestinians, there has been increased scrutiny of military exports to Israel. Thousands more are thought to be dead and buried beneath the debris. Late in January, CLAIHR sent an open letter to the Canadian government expressing worries that the weapons would be used to violate Palestinians’ human rights in the coastal enclave. The letter asked Ottawa to “immediately halt” any shipments.
Activists’ arguments
According to official statistics, Canada exported more than $15 million ($21.3 million Canadian) worth of weapons to Israel in 2022. The Maple news website first revealed in February, using official statistics, that Canada had approved at least $20.9 million ($28.5 million Canadian) in additional weapons shipments to Israel during the first two months of the Gaza conflict. a lot of opposition and requests to stop the shipments. Protesters staged demonstrations outside the locations of weapons companies last week in a number of Canadian cities, including Scarborough, Vancouver, and Quebec City. Ayman Oweida, a Palestinian Canadian and one of the lawsuit applicants, said in a statement that “we are compelled to seek legal action to hold Canada to account for its contempt for international and Canadian law by approving a dramatic increase in military exports to Israel since the latter commenced its bombardment of Gaza.”
Government’s defense
The department’s spokeswoman, Jean-Pierre Godbout, stated in an email sent last month that the permits issued as of October 7 “are for the export of non-lethal equipment.” He did not provide the precise value of the shipments in dollars or offer information regarding the equipment that was authorized for shipment to Israel. When asked for examples of products that are deemed “non-lethal,” Godbout remained silent. Godbout stated, “All permit applications for controlled items are reviewed on a case-by-case basis under Canada’s risk assessment framework, in accordance with Canada’s long standing policy.” Experts stated that parts and components account for the great bulk of Canada’s military shipments to Israel. This covers military aerospace exports and components, electronics and space equipment, bombs, missiles, rockets, and general military explosives and components. However, the majority of exports are hidden from view. “We’re not sure whose businesses are shipping them. Researchers of the peace research organization Project Ploughshares, Kelsey Gallagher and her colleagues, told.
In conclusion, Human rights advocates and attorneys also believe that Canadian military parts are being sent to Israel through the US, possibly for use in F-35 fighter planes and other combat aircraft. However, the exact nature of these shipments is unknown. The foreign minister must, however, “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,” according to Canada’s Export and Import Permits Act. Exports are also prohibited by law if they “may be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights laws” or if they are involved in “serious acts of violence against women and children or gender-based violence.”