Peace, feminism, and arms exports: Canada’s inexplicable and contradictory policy choice

MONTREAL—When Canada launched the Peace and Stabilization Operation Program (PSOP) in August 2016, who could have predicted back then that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau would ruin his own international peace, security and humanitarian aid efforts by supplying weapons of war to countries engaged in armed conflicts? PSOP is the Government of Canada’s platform for conflict prevention, stabilization, and peace-building in fragile and conflict-affected states. Inexplicably, as PSOP was being launched, Canada was finalizing an arms sale deal with Saudi Arabia. Canada was presented with a choice: be a leader for peace or narrow-mindedly subscribe to previously negotiated deals and the choice seems to have been to negotiate a continuation of the Stephen Harper-era arms contract. Saudi Arabia is now using these same Canadian arms to lead military interventions in Yemen. Canada, in contradiction of its own feminist policy, is implicated in the ongoing violence in Yemen. How can Canada support peace while selling arms? How can Canada commit to a feminist foreign policy while fuelling a war where women are the target of violence and repression and women’s rights are suppressed and violated? It’s time for Canada to address its contradictory policy choices and make, once and for all, peace and feminism foremost in its foreign policy priorities. The realignment of Canada’s foreign policy couldn’t come soon enough for Yemen. Yemen is currently in the midst of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. The Group of Eminent Experts on Yemen (GEE), mandated by the United Nations to investigate the human rights violations and abuses in Yemen, has put an international spotlight on crimes and numerous other international law violations—from airstrikes on civilians by the Saudi-led Coalition, to crimes perpetrated by the Houthis including torture of arbitrary detained civilians, rape of women human rights defenders, and the recruitment of children including girls. The GEE’s recently released third annual report calls on the international community to be responsible for actions taken as third states supplying arms to parties to the conflict in Yemen, particularly naming Canada. Canadian GEE member Ardi Imseis, said that there is particular concern that third states continue to supply arms despite the humanitarian situation in Yemen and the COVID-19 pandemic. Imseis noted that “there are a few leading players in that: the United States, France, the United Kingdom, and this year we added Canada because there has been an uptick in arms sales by the Canadians in 2019.” Canada sold nearly $2.9-billion worth of military equipment to Saudi Arabia in 2019 alone—more than double what it had sold the previous year. Being called out in the GEE report should be a shameful wake-up call for Canada to rethink its arms deal with Saudi Arabia. Canada, by supplying parties to an armed conflict with weapons while also trying to portray itself as feminist and peace-oriented, is tarnishing its image and credibility on the international stage. Canadian arms sales to Saudi Arabia is putting civilians at risk. The GEE’s report, and many NGO reports, have documented Saudi Arabia’s role is leading airstrikes targeting hospitals, schools, markets and mosques, and forcing millions of civilians to flee their homes. May 2016 videos showed that light armoured vehicles, sold by Canada to Saudi Arabia, had also been used by the Saudi government to suppress internal protest movements in Saudi Arabia. And weapons used by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen have ended up in the hands of other factions and armed groups with Canadian arms finding their way into the hands of Houthis rebels. Unfortunately, Canada is choosing to ignore this evidence. Canada has neither canceled the arms deal with Saudi Arabia nor has it even recognized the use of its own military hardware in violent armed actions in the Middle East. Canada insists that it will not negotiate any new deals with Saudi Arabia and that it is just living up to its contractual obligations and, thereby, avoiding the financial penalties Canada would incur if it breached its contract. However, as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis continues unabated, the lives of Yemenis should simply be worth more to Prime Minster Trudeau. It is also worth noting that Canada should consider that, by selling arms to Saudi Arabia, Canada could already be in violation of its obligations under the Arms Trade Treaty that Canada signed just last year. Canada has made an inexplicable and contradictory policy choice by choosing to supply Saudi Arabia with weapons of war over its own feminist foreign policy. As the GEE’s report reconfirmed, patriarchal gender norms tend to become exacerbated with conflict. Girls are unable to go to school. Rape and other forms of sexual violence are used as weapons of war. And feminist peace activists face outrages upon their personal dignity and smear campaigns with accusations that feminists are involved in spread prostitution. Canada, by fuelling this war, is also fuelling the violence against women that comes with it. For the sake of peace, women’s rights and international humanitarian law, Canada must stop selling arms to Saudi Arabia. Aïcha Madi is the feminist peace project assistant (intern) at the Peace Track Initiative. She specializes in international security issues with a focus on the Middle East and North Africa region. She cultivates an approach that promotes peace-building and gender equality. She holds a bachelor’s degree in International Studies with a Peace and Security concentration from the University of Montreal (Canada) and is currently pursuing a master’s degree at the same university in public and international affairs. She is a board member of International Connexion of Montreal. The Hill Times

Peace, feminism, and arms exports: Canada’s inexplicable and contradictory policy choice

For the sake of peace, women’s rights and international humanitarian law, Canada must stop selling arms to Saudi Arabia.

Canada must take ethical stance to stop bloodshed in Yemen

Shift in U.S.-Saudi Arabia relations could mean a wake-up call for Canada

An act of care: reframing global efforts to contain COVID-19

Canada must take ethical stance to stop bloodshed in Yemen

Real People. Real Stories.

Top Canadian political speechwriters rate Biden’s speech to Parliament

UN climate report and clutching at straws

Liberals have a theory for winning

Despite global pledge to combat Islamophobia, systemic anti-Muslim hate is on the rise

How to secure Canada’s low-carbon advantage in the global clean energy race

Pandemic used as a cover for increased persecution of women human rights defenders globally

Faint hope in Yemen

Ottawa needs to look at other trade options in the Middle East

Canada formally joins Arms Trade Treaty as experts urge cancelling Saudi LAV deal over Yemen war

Arms exports to Saudi Arabia reach $1.2-billion in 2018, despite calls for Canada to suspend permits

News

Get free news updates

Opinion

Submit a guest opinion article

resources

Advertise

subscribe

get help

Peace, feminism, and arms exports: Canada’s inexplicable and contradictory policy choice

For the sake of peace, women’s rights and international humanitarian law, Canada must stop selling arms to Saudi Arabia.

Get The Foreign Policy and Diplomacy Newsletter