Arms exports to Israel

Canada’s Minister of Foreign, Affairs Mélanie Joly, is reported as being increasingly concerned about the role of Canada in supplying arms to Israel in the wake of the recent Interim Ruling by the International Court of Justice on the accusation by South Africa of genocide by Israel in the war against Hamas in Gaza.

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly gives a speech in Washington, DC, on February 13, 2024. PHOTO BY BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

John Ivison, writes in an opinion piece in the National Post that Canada has stopped issuing export permits for selling military equipment to Israel.

There has been intense pressure on the government from civil society groups to join the Netherlands, Belgium, Japan, Italy and Spain in suspending all shipments of export-controlled items to Israel. Belgium cited the International Court of Justice’s interim ruling in January which found that it was “plausible” that there was genocide in Gaza, although the court did not confirm it and did not order Israel to stop fighting. The ruling has apparently spooked other governments, including Canada’s.

Heather McPherson, the NDP’s foreign affairs critic, has called for a ban on all Canadian military exports to Israel, citing the Arms Trade Treaty (to which Canada is a party) that forbids the export of military goods and technology where there is risk of human rights abuses. “Canada…may be complicit in serious crimes because of ongoing arms sales,” she said.

Joly may be starting to feel the heat from her own lawyers. Earlier this month, Nicaragua said that it will take Canada, the U.K., Germany and the Netherlands (which only recently stopped supplying arms) to the International Court of Justice over the Gaza war, claiming that the four countries have violated the Genocide Convention by supplying ammunition and technology to Israel.

The foreign affairs minister has repeatedly expressed her own concerns about Israel’s conduct in Gaza, particularly with regard to the impending assault on Rafah near the Egyptian border. She said the Israeli government’s demand that the population move again is “unacceptable, because they have nowhere to go.”

Speaking to reporters last week, she called for a “sustainable ceasefire” and a hostage deal. (Ivison, 2024)

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, OHCHR, is the lead United Nations entity mandated to promote and protect human rights for all. The Special Rapporteurs, Independent Experts and Working Groups are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organisation and serve in their individual capacity.

GENEVA (23 February 2024) – Any transfer of weapons or ammunition to Israel that would be used in Gaza is likely to violate international humanitarian law and must cease immediately, UN experts* warned today.

“The need for an arms embargo on Israel is heightened by the International Court of Justice’s ruling on 26 January 2024 that there is a plausible risk of genocide in Gaza and the continuing serious harm to civilians since then”, the experts said. The Genocide Convention of 1948 requires States parties to employ all means reasonably available to them to prevent genocide in another state as far as possible. “This necessitates halting arms exports in the present circumstances”, the experts said.

The experts welcomed the suspension of arms transfers to Israel by Belgium, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and the Japanese company Itochu Corporation. The European Union also recently discouraged arms exports to Israel.

The experts urged other States to immediately halt arms transfers to Israel, including export licenses and military aid. The United States and Germany are by far the largest arms exporters and shipments have increased since 7 October 2023. Other military exporters include France, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. (Arms Exports to Israel Must Stop Immediately, n.d.)

The experts noted that arms transfers to Hamas and other armed groups are also prohibited by international law, given their grave violations of international humanitarian law on 7 October 2023, including hostage-taking and subsequent indiscriminate rocket fire. The duty to “ensure respect” for humanitarian law applies “in all circumstances”, including when Israel claims it is countering terrorism. Military intelligence must also not be shared where there is a clear risk that it would be used to violate international humanitarian law.

“State officials involved in arms exports may be individually criminally liable for aiding and abetting any war crimes, crimes against humanity or acts of genocide,” the experts said. “All States under the principle of universal jurisdiction, and the International Criminal Court, may be able to investigate and prosecute such crimes.” (Arms Exports to Israel Must Stop Immediately, n.d.)

Ploughshares Researcher Kelsey Gallagher, introduces a report on the grave risk of Canada’s arms exports to Israel. Kelsey notes that as the international community grapples with the humanitarian consequences of this conflict, a critical concern has come into focus: the flow of foreign arms to the conflict parties. Canada has long exported military goods to one of these parties – Israel – and the annual value of these transfers has recently increased.

Of particular significance is Canada’s supply of military components to the United States, some of which are later supplied to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). These Canadian-made components include some integrated into the Israeli F-35I Joint Strike Fighter, which has reportedly been utilized in the ongoing bombardment of Gaza.

The gravity of this situation calls for immediate action to ensure Canada is meeting its domestic and international obligations to mitigate the risk of contributing to violations of international law, for example, violations of international humanitarian law (IHL), including possible war crimes, in Gaza. Given the substantial risk that Canadian military goods could contribute to such abuses in Gaza, Canada must immediately halt all transfers of weapons to Israel. (Gallagher, 2024)

The International Court of Justice is considering the case of possible genocide in the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Arms shipments to Israel may place Canada in violation of treaties and complicit in any finding of genocide by the IJC.

References

Arms exports to Israel must stop immediately. (n.d.). UN Human Rights Office. Retrieved February 26, 2024, from https://www.ohchr.org/en/ohchr_homepage 

Gallagher, K. (2024, January 18). Project Ploughshares. Project Ploughshares. Retrieved February 26, 2024, from https://www.ploughshares.ca/reports/fanning-the-flames-the-grave-risk-of-canadas-arms-exports-to-israel 

Ivison, J. (2024, February 22). John Ivison: Liberals don’t deny blocking military exports to Israel. National Post. Retrieved February 25, 2024, from https://nationalpost.com/opinion/canada-wavers-on-military-exports-to-israel