Written by: Aidan Jonah

This morning, two ministers in the Canadian government stated their absolute support for UN-Secretary General Antonio Guterres’ appeal for a global ceasefire, in light of the COVID-19 crisis. The joint statement was made by François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Karina Gould, Minister of International Development.

In the statement, they emphasized their heightened concerns in light of the COVID-19 pandemic:

“As COVID-19 continues to spread, Canada is particularly concerned about the plight of women, children and vulnerable civilians caught in armed conflict and humanitarian crises.”

Their major focus is on having war torn countries put their battles on hold, to allow them to take necessary measures to fight COVID-19:

“Now is the time to put armed conflict on lockdown, to protect the most vulnerable and to focus our efforts together in the fight against this virus.”

While this may seem a positive step forward, the reality is that this declaration is nothing more than a smooth PR move.

The Liberals lift suspension of arms exports to Saudi Arabia

In a statement yesterday, Foreign Affairs Minister Champagne, and Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced that arms exports to Saudi Arabia would be resuming.

The original $14 billion deal to export LAVs made by the Ontario-based General Dynamics Land Systems to Saudi Arabia, was brokered in 2014 by the previous Conservative government. The Canadian government has re-negotiated the contract, which was given final approval by Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government in 2015.

As a result, General Dynamics Land Systems is now able to sell light armoured vehicles to the Saudi government. As a state party to the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty, Canada's goods cannot be exported where there is a "substantial risk" that they would be used in violating human rights and humanitarian law. “We have now begun reviewing permit applications on a case-by-case basis,” the statement read.

Saudi Arabia’s devastating involvement in the Yemen War

As Morgana Adby wrote in her article: “Yemen’s Recent Ceasefire and the Canadian Arms Deal that Fueled the Violence,”

“Foundationally, the issue goes back to the Middle East’s cold war between Iran and Saudi Arabia. During the mid 2010s, following the Arab Spring, internal divisions led to a Houthi military movement. The last four years have seen the country transform into an unrecognizable bloodbath.

The reason things got so bad, is in part the international escalation. Britain and the United States have been fundamental to the Saudi bombings. These bombings have indiscriminately targeted civilians and first-responders.

A Saudi-led coalition directly opposes the Houthi forces. They established a blockade in 2017 -- in addition to the usual devastation of proxy warfare -bombings, guerrilla warfare and massive civilian casualties. This prevented the already vulnerable population from getting food and medicine, resulting in famine and a Cholera outbreak. Even after international condemnation pressured the blockade to discontinue, there were still limits on the goods entering the country.

Yemen usually imported 90% of their food, so this practice directly killed civilians. UNICEF has expressed deep concern over the conditions of children in the country, especially in relation to food security.”

There’s evidence that our weapons are ending up on the battlefield. In 2016, the Global Affairs office recognized “... the appearance of a Canadian- made weapon (LRT-3 sniper rifle), photographed in the hands of a Houthi fighter in Yemen. More than 1300 sniper rifles have been exported from Canada to Saudi Arabian military and security forces under valid export permits, including several hundred of this model.” The document goes on to explain that the weapon likely transferred hands during military operations on the border.

Yemen Prison Bombing shows the war may never truly end

A report from the International Observatory of Human Rights details how on April 5, “a women’s section of a prison in the southwest of Yemen in the province of Taiz was bombed by Houthi rebels.”

The UN’s Yemen Envoy, Martin Griffiths, had just finalised urgent talks between warring parties. The talks had put in place a four-point plan including an immediate ceasefire in the wake of of the COVID-19 crisis.

Both the Saudi-led coalition and the Yemeni Houthi rebels claim that the other party was behind the recent mortar attack. However, the damage caused is clear.

“At least six women and one child were killed and up to 20 were injured; four of the injured were children that were detained alongside their mothers,” the report details.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet said, “This attack appears to be in breach of international humanitarian law, and depending on the circumstances could amount to a war crime.”

The reality of selling weapons to parties involved in war

It is clear that even if the permit applications are truly viewed on a “case-by-case basis”, the weapons will fall into the hands of fighters, whether its the Saudi-led coalition or the Yemeni Houthi rebels. The Trudeau government is exploiting the chaos and lack of public attention to re-ignite an arms deal which has very likely directly contributed to international war crimes. The Trudeau government must reverse course and re-suspend arms exports to Saudi Arabia, if it views the fight for human rights as more than a cheap PR ploy.