A coalition of 12 Canadian civil society organizations (CSO) has written an open letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, expressing their concern that Canada has yet to complete its review of exports of Light Armoured Vehicles (LAVs) to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The review was announced over nine months ago, but the outcome has yet to be announced.
The CSO coalition calls on all states, including Canada, to cease the sale or transfer of weapons to any government where there is risk that those weapons might be used in the conflict in Yemen. This conflict continues deteriorate, including ongoing attacks against the civilian population and grave violations of the rights of children.
In spite of this, and in spite of the fact that Canada has deposited its instrument of accession to the Arms Trade Treaty, Canada exported 127 Armoured Combat Vehicles to Saudi Arabia in 2018 alone. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom recently declared weapons exports to Saudi Arabia unlawful, and there have been repeated votes in the United States Congress in favor of banning arms transfers to that country. Denmark, Finland, Germany, Switzerland, Greece and Austria have taken measures to end or suspend transfers to Saudi Arabia.
The CSO coalition calls on the Government of Canada to complete its review of exports to Saudi Arabia and communicate the outcome of that review without delay. Canadians, the international community, and the people of Yemen deserve clear answers with respect to Canada’s position on these military exports.
Signed by the following CSOs:
Action contre la faim Canada
Amnesty International Canada (English branch)
Amnistie internationale Canada francophone
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East
Group of 78
International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group
Médecins du Monde Canada
Oxfam Canada
Oxfam-Québec
Project Ploughshares
Rideau Institute
Save the Children Canada
For further information, please contact Lucy Scholey, Media Relations, Amnesty International Canada (English branch), 613-744-7667 ext. 236 lscholey@amnesty.ca
