#Arms Trade

[allthecanadianpolitics]

A petition was filed, Tuesday, in federal court in Canada to force Foreign Affairs Minister, Melanie Joly, to stop issuing export permits for military goods and technology sales to Israel, Anadolu Agency reports. The suit, launched by Palestinian-Canadians and the Al-Haq Palestinian non-governmental organisation and the Canadian Lawyers for International Human Rights (CLAIHR), argues the sale violates Canadian and international law. Canada’s Export and Import Permits Act states that the Foreign Minister must deny military goods and technology exports and permit applications if there is a substantial risk that would undermine peace and security. “We are seeking to hold Canada to its own standards and to its international legal obligations,” CLAIHR board member, Henry Off, told Al Jazeera in a telephone interview.

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Tagging @politicsofcanada

[capybaracorn]

Demands for Canada to stop supplying weapons to Israel grow louder

But loopholes and a lack of transparency stall efforts to hold government accountable for its role in arming Israel.

Montreal, Canada – Human rights advocates are accusing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government of misleading the public over weapons sales to Israel, which have come under greater scrutiny amid the deadly Israeli bombardment of Gaza.

At issue is legislation that prohibits the government from exporting military equipment to foreign actors if there is a risk it can be used in human rights abuses.

But regulatory loopholes, combined with a lack of clarity over what Canada sends to Israel, have complicated efforts to end the transfers.

Dozens of Canadian civil society groups this month urged Trudeau to end arms exports to Israel, arguing they violate Canadian and international law because the weapons could be used in the Gaza Strip.

But in the face of mounting pressure since Israel’s war on Gaza began on October 7, Canada’s foreign affairs ministry has tried to downplay the state’s role in helping Israel build its arsenal.

“Global Affairs Canada can confirm that Canada has not received any requests, and therefore not issued any permits, for full weapon systems for major conventional arms or light weapons to Israel for over 30 years,” the department told Al Jazeera in an email on Friday.

“The permits which have been granted since October 7, 2023, are for the export of non-lethal equipment.”

But advocates say this misrepresents the total volume of Canada’s military exports to Israel, which totalled more than $15m ($21.3m Canadian) in 2022, according to the government’s own figures.

It also shines a spotlight on the nation’s longstanding lack of transparency around these transfers.

“Canadian companies have exported over [$84m, $114m Canadian] in military goods to Israel since 2015 when the Trudeau government was elected,” said Michael Bueckert, vice president of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East, an advocacy group.

“And they have continued to approve arms exports since October 7 despite the clear risk of genocide in Gaza,” Bueckert told Al Jazeera.

“Unable to defend its own policy, this government is misleading Canadians into thinking that we aren’t exporting weapons to Israel at all. As Canadians increasingly demand that their government impose an arms embargo on Israel, politicians are trying to pretend that the arms trade doesn’t exist.”

Lack of information

While Canada may not transfer full weapons systems to Israel, the two countries enjoy “a consistent arms trade relationship”, said Kelsey Gallagher, a researcher at Project Ploughshares, a peace research institute.

The vast majority of Canada’s military exports to Israel come in the form of parts and components. These typically fall into three categories, Gallagher explained: electronics and space equipment; military aerospace exports and components; and finally, bombs, missiles, rockets and general military explosives and components.

But beyond these broad categories, which were gleaned by examining Canada’s own domestic and international reports on weapons exports, Gallagher said it remains unclear “what these actual pieces of technology are”.

“We don’t know what companies are exporting them. We don’t know exactly what their end use is,” he told Al Jazeera.

Global Affairs Canada did not immediately respond to Al Jazeera’s question about what “non-lethal equipment” the government has approved for export to Israel since October 7.

“What does this mean? No one knows because there’s no definition of that and it really could be quite a number of things,” said Henry Off, a Toronto-based lawyer and board member of the group Canadian Lawyers for International Human Rights (CLAIHR).

Human rights lawyers and activists also suspect that Canadian military components are reaching Israel via the United States, including for installation in fighter jets such as the F-35 aircraft.

But these transfers are difficult to track because a decades-old deal between Canada and the US – 1956’s Defence Production Sharing Agreement – has created “a unique and comprehensive set of loopholes that are afforded to Canadian arms transfers to the US”, said Gallagher.

“These exports are treated with zero transparency. There is no regulation of, or reporting of, the transfer of Canadian-made military components to the US, including those that could be re-transferred to Israel,” he said.

The result, he added, is that “it is very difficult to challenge what are problematic transfers if we do not have the information with which to do so”.

Domestic, international law

Despite these hurdles, Canadian human rights advocates are pressuring the government to end its weapons sales to Israel, particularly in light of the Israeli military’s continued assault on Gaza.

Nearly 28,000 Palestinians have been killed over the past four months and rights advocates have meticulously documented the impact on the ground of Israel’s indiscriminate bombing, and its vast destruction of the enclave. The world’s top court, the International Court of Justice, also determined last month that Palestinians in Gaza face a plausible risk of genocide.

Against that backdrop, eliminating weapons transfers to Israel is effectively a demand for “Canada [to] abide by its own laws”, said Off, the Toronto lawyer.

That’s because Canada’s Export and Import Permits Act obliges the foreign minister to “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”.

The minister should also deny exports if they “could be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights laws” or in “serious acts of gender-based violence or serious acts of violence against women and children”, the law states.

Meanwhile, Canada is also party to the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), a United Nations pact that bans transfers if states have knowledge the arms could be used in genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and other violations of international law.

But according to Off, despite a growing list of Israeli human rights violations since October 7, Canada “has been approving the transfer of military goods and technology that might fuel” them.

Late last month, Canadian Lawyers for International Human Rights wrote a letter to Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly demanding an immediate end to the transfers. The group said it would consider next steps, including possible legal action, if action is not taken.

‘It takes a village’

Still, Canada insists that it maintains one of the strongest arms export control regimes in the world.

Asked whether his government intends to end arms transfers to Israel, Trudeau said in Parliament on January 31 that Canada “puts human rights and protection of human rights at the centre of all our decision-making”.

“It has always been the case and we have been consistent in making sure that we are responsible in the way we do that. We will continue to be so,” the prime minister said.

Gallagher, at Project Ploughshares, told Al Jazeera, however, that Canada maintains “a level of permissibility” in choosing which countries it chooses to arm, including Israel.

And while Canadian weapons exports to the Israeli government pale in comparison to other countries – notably the US, which sends billions of dollars in military aid to Israel annually – Off said, “Any difference is a difference.”

“It takes a village to make these instruments of death and it should make a difference if we cut off Canada’s contributions,” he told Al Jazeera, adding that the pressure on Canada also sends a message to other countries “potentially aiding and abetting Israel’s slaughter of Gaza”.

“If you send arms to countries committing serious violations of international humanitarian law, you will be held to account.”

[agentfascinateur]

Palestinians used as Guinea pigs by Israeli weapons makers:

The Israeli army released footage on October 22 of its Maglan commando unit deploying a new precision-guided 120mm mortar bomb called the Iron Sting, against Hamas in Gaza. The bomb’s Haifa-based manufacturer, Elbit Systems, has been advertising its qualities on the public relations page of its website since March 2021, when it was integrated into the Israeli military.

[warsofasoiaf]

Very broad and possibly question but why do countries still buy Russian weapons and equipment when they clearly do not work or are as effective as their Western counterparts? Is there a chance another power could try and outproduce them in quality?

As I've mentioned before, arms contracts are not just a simple matter of "I want a tank, I buy a tank." Arms contracts are very large affairs, with software updates and other related add-ons to the contract making them multi-year affairs. Cancelling an arms contract can leave a nation with a critical gulf in their defenses until a new deal, which can take years to negotiate, can be finalized.

And then there's the question of when it comes to Russian failures - is it the equipment that's bad, or is it the training and doctrine of the Russian military that's bad and they're simply incapable of utilizing the equipment? A good piece of kit poorly used might work for your nation if you don't skimp on the training budget, and an armored vehicle that doesn't have its wire stripped for drinking money might actually service the needs of your military.

One significant benefit to Russian equipment is that it's much cheaper than western alternatives. They may not be as flashy, but if you're a cash-strapped country, Russian kit might be the only way you can supply your military to a decent size.

Several powers might be able to replace Russia as a low-cost arms supplier. India and China are the two most likely candidates.

Thanks for the question, James.

SomethingLikeALawyer, Hand of the King

[captain-casual]

Oh HELLLLL no.

[nando161mando]

"Fin al comercio de armas con Israel" (ES: Español)

"End the arms trade with Israel" (EN: English)

[the-lady-maddy]

https://www.instagram.com/p/DBzC_NNNfgZ/?igsh=MTVqZjNmajllYjkxMg==

[ministerforpeas]

You Need Arms.

[afrotumble]

Mundari tribe, South Sudan.

[dailymarx]

The impact of war is self-evident, since economically it is exactly the same as if the nation were to drop a part of its capital into the ocean.

Marx - Grundrisse 1857

[news4dzhozhar]

Israel maintains robust arms trade with rogue regimes

**This is from 2017 but just shows what a sociopath Netanyahu is. Despite all of this, we still give Israel billions (yes billions with a B) every year for "defense". Clearly Bibi sees no irony in providing weapons to be used to perpetrate religious genocide. His ancestors must be turning in their mass graves**

"Many Western states sell arms, but what's unique about Israel is that, wherever war crimes & crimes against humanity are being committed, you find Israel is present," Mack told Al Jazeera. As well as fuelling the current violence in Myanmar & South Sudan, Israel has been accused of clandestinely providing arms used in notorious past episodes of genocide & ethnic cleansing in places such as Rwanda, the Balkans, Chile, Argentina, Sri Lanka, Haiti, El Salvador and Nicaragua. Israel also cultivated close ties to apartheid South Africa, Mack noted.

Yair Auron, a genocide researcher at Israel's Open University, said that Israel's supply of weapons to regimes such as Myanmar should be compared to the sending of arms to Nazi Germany during the Holocaust. "These sales turn me & all Israelis into criminals, because they are sent in our name," he told Al Jazeera. "We are abetting genocide."

Human rights activists are stepping up efforts to expose Israel's long & covert history of supplying weapons & military training to regimes while they actively commit massacres, ethnic cleansing & genocide. The issue of Israel's trade with rogue regimes has been thrust into the spotlight again after revelations that it is sending weapons to Myanmar, in defiance of a US & European arms embargo.

Formerly known as Burma, Myanmar was condemned last month by the United Nations for conducting what it called a "textbook ethnic cleansing" of the Rohingya, a Muslim minority. Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya are reported to have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh in recent weeks, after evidence of the torching of entire villages, massacres and systematic rapes.

Israel has not divulged details of its ties to Myanmar's military government, but public records show that it has sold the military there armed patrol boats, guns and surveillance equipment. Myanmar's special forces have also been trained by Israelis.

Israeli firms have also broken with the United States and Europe by supplying weapons and surveillance equipment to militias in South Sudan, where a civil war has raged since late 2013. Some 300,000 Sudanese are believed to have been killed in the fighting.

Eitay Mack, a human rights lawyer, has submitted a spate of petitions to the Israeli courts in an attempt to bring to light details of Israel's trade with such regimes. He said the cases were designed to hasten war crimes investigations of the officials and contractors involved.

Israel is the only major weapons exporter that has consistently bucked the global trend of a downturn in arms sales. In March, it was reported that Israel's weapons trade in 2016 was worth some $6.5bn, up from $5.7bn the year before. That included a 70 percent jump in sales to Africa.

If countries want the best arms, then they probably go to the US and Europe. But when no one else will sell to you, then you turn to Israel.

[allthecanadianpolitics]

There's a contradiction in Canada's stance on the conflict in Gaza. On the one hand, they claim to support a ceasefire (a win that took a lot of public pressure and showed that people power works). On the other, Canadian-made arms and parts sales to Israel have skyrocketed, not waned, since the onset of the conflict on October 7. So which one is it, Canada: do you want a ceasefire or a war? While Canada publicly champions a ceasefire and access to humanitarian aid, it is contributing directly to the escalating violence by continuing to supply military goods to the region - like the parts crucial to Lockheed Martin's F-35 jets, which Israel is actively deploying in Gaza.

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Tagging @politicsofcanada @allthegeopolitics

[capybaracorn]

Arrests at protest against Israel’s war on Gaza outside New York Stock Exchange

Hundreds of demonstrators have blockaded the New York Stock Exchange, to denounce US support for Israel's war on Gaza. Jewish activists leading the protest called for an end to war profiteering by US weapons manufacturers.

[agentfascinateur]

Blood diamonds funding Israelis' genocide in Gaza

A report by the Kimberley Process—a global initiative to prevent blood diamonds from entering the market—revealed that six of the ten largest diamond-producing countries are in Africa, where many regions are still mired in conflicts over diamond-rich territories. Over the past decades, Israel strategically expanded its presence in Africa through new investments and has profited significantly from Africa’s diamond mines. Trading with military equipment, Israeli companies linked to the military allegedly gained access to diamonds and other minerals...

#old Rothschildian trick

#blood imperialism

[immaculatasknight]

Genocide is good money

[feckcops]

Parents hold playgroup at arms company office in protest at Gaza genocide

“Dozens of parents and children staged a noisy playgroup at the London office of arms manufacturer BAE Systems on Friday to highlight its complicity in Israel’s killing of thousands of Palestinian children.

“Pushing prams and toting a parachute banner, Parents for Palestine flooded into the lobby of the glittering Blue Fin building, which houses BAE’s Digital Intelligence division. The group released 100 black balloons in memory of children killed in Gaza, called out BAE with chants and songs, and urged the building managers to evict ‘murderers’ who work alongside them. 

“‘Our government allows BAE to export arms knowing full well they’ll be used to perpetrate a genocide,’ said Rees Nicolas, one of the organisers, there with four-month-old Sylvia. ‘As parents, we couldn’t stand by and let this happen.’

“Outside, the group taped photos of murdered Palestinian children to the building’s pillars and played ‘sleeping bunnies’ with a five-metre parachute, painted with the words ‘BAE, stop arming Israel’.

“BAE Systems, Europe’s largest arms company, supplies the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) with key components of fighter jets, munitions, armoured vehicles and missile launching kits. Activists say BAE has made as much as £300m selling weapons components to Israel since 2016.

“Many of those parts are for the F-35, the Lockheed Martin-designed plane that is Israel’s most advanced fighter jet. The IDF is deploying F-35s in its airstrikes on Gaza, which have killed at least 14,500 people and devastated infrastructure in the Strip, and uses the jets to support invading troops.”