A coalition of international humanitarian organizations, including M\u00e9decins du Monde, sent a letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Anita Anand, demanding the suspension of arms transfers to Israel and respect for its own past commitments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":4922,"template":"","actualite_type":[10],"actualite_sujet":[],"action_combat":[42],"mdm_pays":[],"class_list":["post-5232","actualite","type-actualite","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","actualite_type-international-actions","action_combat-humanitarian-crises"],"acf":{"mise_en_avant":false,"chapeau":"A coalition of international humanitarian organizations, including M\u00e9decins du Monde, sent a letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Anita Anand, demanding the suspension of arms transfers to Israel and respect for its own past commitments.","cta_type":"aucun","cta_lien":"","contenu":"
Madam Minister, <\/p>\n
We are writing to you as a collective of Canadian humanitarian organizations working in Gaza, as the mass famine<\/a> reported by over 100 NGOs has now been confirmed by the latest IPC report<\/a>, which shows that famine thresholds have been reached in Gaza \u2014 in a context of systematic blocking of humanitarian aid and widespread destruction of assets essential for the survival of the civilian population. This further deterioration of the humanitarian situation is all the more alarming in light of recent and deeply troubling revelations about the continuing transfer of Canadian arms to Israel<\/a> in 2023, 2024, and 2025. <\/p>\n We are writing to you today to highlight one of the concrete ways in which you can take action. As you know, we have repeatedly called on the Government of Canada to end its military support for Israel in the context of its ongoing offensive in Gaza \u2014 and more specifically, to suspend all transfers of Canadian military equipment to Israel, whether direct or indirect. In March 2024, following the adoption of a motion in the House of Commons, the government committed to adopting a clear policy to restrict arms exports. In September 2024, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, M\u00e9lanie Joly, also stated, \u00ab There are no Canadian weapons or weapon components that will end up in Gaza.<\/a> \u00bb <\/p>\n Despite these statements \u2014 which were never published as an official policy \u2014 and our repeated requests, recently disclosed information shows that Canada has not ended its military support for Israel and has even continued to transfer arms. These facts are deeply concerning and raise serious questions about Canada\u2019s legal and moral responsibilities, as well as its complicity in grave violations of international humanitarian law and human rights committed in the context of this conflict. <\/p>\n As you know, under the Arms Trade Treaty<\/a>\nregulating export controls, Canada has a legal obligation not to authorize the export of arms or related goods where there is a substantial risk that they may be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international humanitarian law or human rights. Furthermore, as a State Party bound by Common Article 1 of the 1949 Geneva Conventions<\/a>, Canada is required to prevent the transfer of arms to any party \u2014 state or non-state \u2014 where there is a clear risk that such arms may contribute to violations of international humanitarian law. Canada also has an obligation to ensure compliance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 2417<\/a>, which prohibits the use of starvation as a weapon of war and requires States to prevent such violations. <\/p>\n For months, we have shared with you, as well as with your predecessor, overwhelming evidence demonstrating that such violations are being committed daily, systematically, and on a large scale by Israeli forces in Gaza. <\/p>\n