Canada cannot claim to support the call for a ceasefire and peace while supplying arms to a conflict where serious, repeated, and documented violations of international humanitarian law are occurring.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":5066,"template":"","actualite_type":[10],"actualite_sujet":[180],"action_combat":[],"mdm_pays":[],"class_list":["post-5064","actualite","type-actualite","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","actualite_type-international-actions","actualite_sujet-emergency-gaza"],"acf":{"mise_en_avant":false,"chapeau":"Canada cannot claim to support the call for a ceasefire and peace while supplying arms to a conflict where serious, repeated, and documented violations of international humanitarian law are occurring.","cta_type":"aucun","cta_lien":"","contenu":"
Dear Minister Joly,<\/p>\n
We, the undersigned civil society organizations, are as appalled as you are by the unrelenting devastation in Gaza. Yet Canada risks becoming complicit in this humanitarian catastrophe by continuing to transfer military goods destined for Israel\u2014exports that are incompatible with its obligations under the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT)<\/a>. As organizations committed to the defence of human rights, the protection of civilians, peace, and justice\u2014many of which are present in Gaza and witness daily the severe consequences of arms transfers to the parties in the conflict\u2014we urgently call on the Government of Canada to take immediate action to halt all arms exports and components of arms to Israel, as well as all transfers for which Israel will be the end user.<\/p>\n Over the past ten months, more than 40,000 Palestinians<\/a> have been killed in Israel\u2019s military campaign in the Gaza Strip, the majority being women and children. Over 92,000 have been injured, and essential civilian infrastructure has been destroyed. In just the past few weeks, Israel has attacked at least seven schools. These attacks add to the long list of schools, hospitals, refugee camps, and places of worship struck since October, many of which are crowded with displaced civilians fleeing the violence.<\/p>\n This year marks the 10th<\/sup> anniversary of the adoption of the ATT, which Canada joined five years ago. Under this treaty, Canada is prohibited from exporting arms if such transfers are used to commit serious crimes under international law, including disproportionate and indiscriminate attacks. Furthermore, States Parties to the treaty may not authorize arms transfers if there is an overriding risk that they will be misused, including to commit or facilitate serious violations of international humanitarian law (IHL)\u2014violations that have become routine for the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF). These obligations are also reflected in domestic law under the Export and Import Permits Act (EIPA).<\/a><\/p>\n Moreover, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) order to halt Israel\u2019s military offensive<\/a> in Rafah due to the plausible risk of genocide<\/a>, as well as its advisory opinion<\/a> of July 19, which found Israel\u2019s prolonged occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territory to be illegal, are significant international legal findings that call for concrete policy changes\u2014not only on Israel\u2019s part. Canada must urgently review its own cooperation practices to ensure they prevent international crimes and do not contribute to further violations of international law.<\/p>\n Earlier this year, it was reported that your government had suspended the authorization of new arms transfers to Israel, a decisive step in the right direction. However, since then, the scope of this policy has not been officially defined, permits for arms transfers to Israel have not been denied but rather left pending<\/a> for future approval, and, more alarmingly, previously approved arms transfers have continued unabated<\/a>.<\/p>\n We are alarmed that these already authorized transfers include at least $95 million worth of Canadian military equipment<\/a> that could be exported to Israel by the end of 2025, despite well-documented and ongoing violations of IHL and human rights<\/a> committed by Israel in Gaza and the West Bank. Canada\u2019s continued arming of Israel contradicts our country\u2019s commitment to upholding IHL and human rights. It also undermines efforts to end hostilities in Gaza through the implementation of a ceasefire, which Canada has pledged to support<\/a>.<\/p>\n