About Arms embargo
When a country is involved in war or violence, arms exports are often restricted by the UN Security Council as part of an arms embargo. Depending on the context and nature of the conflict, a full arms embargo may be imposed by the UN or an individual member state is allowed to suggest a limited or partial arms embargo. The purpose of an arms embargo is usually to prevent the proliferation of weapons and escalation of violence in a region.
As the world watches the catastrophe that Israel continues to inflict on the people of Gaza, Canadian civil society organizations across sectors are urging our MPs to sign onto Bernie Sanders’ Joint Resolutions of Disapproval calling for a two-way arms embargo on both sides of the aisle. They are also urging the federal government to cancel the hundreds of arms export permits that it has already approved for Israel, which include weapons used in its attack on Gaza.
While arms embargoes are an essential tool for preventing illicit arms trafficking, they can’t work without better national controls and international arms transfer control. The Sanctions Committees that oversee adherence to arms embargoes are often too overwhelmed to effectively investigate and report violations of the embargoes. They must rely on UN peacekeeping missions to report compliance with the arms embargoes and they must also rely on the countries that are subject to the embargoes to abide by their own obligations.