
Eight Canadian MPs and Senators Call for Ending Arms Sales Used in the Yemen War
Eight Canadian Members of Parliament and Senators expressed their concern about the situation in Yemen in a petition launched by the International United Nations Watch (IUNW). According to the UN, Canada is on the list of countries that sell weapons to the countries fueling the conflict in Yemen. Canada was added to the aforementioned list of countries, besides France and the UK, due to an increase in arms sales in 2019 to Saudi Arabia and the UAE that are directly involved in the conflict.
The petition added that while “Canada has spent 65 million dollars on humanitarian aid to support Yemenis suffering under a brutal war, at the same time had concluded deals to sell weapons and military equipment worth 284 million dollars to countries bombing Yemen, such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE, is contradictory.”
The Canadian legislators called on the Canadian Government to address the issue of arms sales used in the Yemen war and to take steps to stop and suspend arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE and stop human rights violations and the collapse of Yemen’s economy.
The Canadian MPs urged the Canadian Government:
1. To stop supplying arms to Saudi Arabia and the UAE used in the Yemen war.
2. To raise the issue of the ongoing humanitarian crisis caused by the war in Yemen at international forums, exacerbated by the targeting of civilians by the Saudi-led Arab coalition.
3. To act to stop the strategic and humanitarian catastrophe happening in Yemen.
4. To coordinate with the U.S, E.U to end the war in Yemen and provide the people Yemen with the much-needed humanitarian aid.
Signatories:
1. Leo Housakos, Canadian Senator.
2. Don Davis, Canadian MP.
3. Mathew Green, Canadian MP.
4. Anita Anand, Canadian MP.
5. Lyne Bessette, Canadian MP.
6. Alexandre Boulerice, Canadian MP.
7. Heather McPherson, Canadian MP.
8. Kamal Khera, Canadian MP.