Abstract
Under the Arms Trade Treaty, state parties must assess the extent to which the export of conventional arms might contribute to, inter alia, serious violations of human rights or international humanitarian law. The stated aims of Canada’s arms export licensing decision-making process are, similarly, to assess such risks on a case-by-case basis. This paper examines Canada’s ongoing arms transfer arrangements with Saudi Arabia in light of health-related international humanitarian and human rights law considerations enumerated in the Arms Trade Treaty. It assesses available information suggesting serious violations that implicate acts of commission by the Saudi-led coalition in the conflict in Yemen. The article centers on questions about the potential health-related consequences of Canadian-made, Saudi-coalition-used arms for people in Yemen and how risks are being assessed in export decision-making processes. Ultimately, it argues that Canada is failing to meaningfully take into account the possible negative impacts of its arms exports on people’s health and health care in Yemen. It counters the government’s approach to risk, which it argues is serviceable to exporter interests, with a health-based precautionary approach to exports.
Themes | Global Health & Humanitarianism |
Status | Active |
Related Work | |
Updates |
N/A
|
People |
Rhonda Ferguson, Research Fellow, Global Health Visioning
Zarlasht Jamal, Research Assistant, Global Health Foresighting [W20] |
You may also be interested in...
Learning Opportunity – Promoting Global Health
EXPERIENCE COSTA RICAMay 23 to June 1, 2023 Even in the happiest countries on earth, global health disparities and inequities exist. Experience the rich, complex history and social landscape of Costa Rica while examining the ...Read more about this Post
Call for Presentations – 2023 Critical Social Science Perspectives in Global Health Workshop
The fourth Critical Social Science Perspectives in Global Health (CPGH) Research workshop returns as an in-person event on Wednesday, March 29 from 9 a.m. to noon ET at the Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research. Continental ...Read more about this Post
Recap – Climate change threatens to cause greater resource insecurity, greater poverty, and poor health outcomes
On February 1, over 40 attendees were introduced to Godfred Boateng's research programs – he discussed some examples of current global environmental changes that have destabilized the earth's climate and threaten to cause resource insecurity, ...Read more about this Post