Experts from human rights groups such as Amnesty International Canada on Wednesday (August 11th) in a joint report entitled “No Credible Evidence” argued that arms exports to Saudi Arabia – which have been in place since 2015 for war in Yemen – Canada is violating its obligations under the Arms Trade Treaty. “Research and expert reports have shown that arms exports from Canada to Saudi Arabia violate Canada’s legal obligations under the ATT (Arms Trade Treaty),” the report said.
“There is convincing evidence that weapons exported from Canada to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, including light armored vehicles and sniper rifles, were used in the Yemeni war,” the report said. “Given the dangers posed by Canada’s arms supply, the Ottawa government must immediately revoke existing arms export licenses to Saudi Arabia and suspend new ones.”
A Canadian State Department spokesman said the same day that the government was “committed to a strict arms export system” and that “Canada has one of the strongest arms export control systems in the world and respect for human rights in control laws.” “Canadian exports are listed!”
For years, Canadian civil society groups have called on the government to cancel existing arms deals with Saudi Arabia and suspend all future licenses. They believe that these weapons can be used to violate human rights both inside the country and in Yemen.
Human rights groups have called on Canada to cancel a $ 12 billion arms deal to send Canadian light armored vehicles to the Saudi government. The agreement was signed during the time of former Prime Minister Stephen Harper, but was also ratified by the government of Justin Trudeau. Trudeau defended arms exports at the beginning of his term as prime minister, arguing that the move did not conflict with Canada’s human rights and foreign policy commitments!
But following the assassination of prominent Saudi journalist Jamal Khashgeji in 2018 at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Trudeau said his government was looking for a way out of the deal and that Ottawa had ordered a review of arms exports to Riyadh.
Despite global pressure following Khashgeji’s assassination, in April 2020, the Canadian government said in a report after reviewing the arms deal with Saudi Arabia that there was no significant risk and no evidence that military goods, including light armored vehicles, were committing Or to facilitate serious violations of international humanitarian law in Yemen!
The value of Canadian arms exports to Saudi Arabia in 2020 amounted to $ 1 billion. Canada is the second largest arms exporter to Saudi Arabia after the United States, and alone supplies 67 percent of its non-US military weapons.
“Canada has one of the toughest arms control systems in the world, and human rights principles are enshrined in the Export Control Act,” State Department spokeswoman Lama Khoder said in a statement. “All our arms deals with Saudi Arabia are reviewed separately and individually!”
