Thank you, Cesar.
Thank you for having us today.
Canada's recent cancellation of export permits for Wescam surveillance and targeting sensors to Turkey is a very positive move, consistent with domestic and international obligations, and it sets a concrete precedent applicable to other problematic arms deals. However, the events leading to the cancellation illustrate serious issues in the effective implementation of Canada's arms control regime.
Following Turkey's unilateral invasion of northern Syria in October 2019, Canada suspended the issuance of new arms export permits to Turkey. Initially this appeared to be a proactive move in response to a well-founded risk of misuse of the exports in question, yet the suspension did little more than temporarily interrupt the flow of weapons to Turkey.
Under political pressure from the Turkish government, Global Affairs Canada soon moved to quietly release dozens of the weapons exports that had been recently suspended, under a growing list of exemptions. The most common basis for these exemptions was whether a permit denial would result in “especially negative impacts on bilateral relations”.
Goods exempted from the suspension include a series of weapon systems, notably among them the Wescam sensors. These exemptions demonstrate a creeping politicization of Canada's regulatory regime. Neither Canadian law nor the Arms Trade Treaty allows for political calculations when assessing the risk that individual arms exports may be used to violate human rights or be diverted to an unauthorized user.
Wescam sensors face risk of both, as evidenced by Turkey's behaviour in more than one conflict zone. This should have been clear to Canadian officials at the time of authorization. These risks again materialized as Wescam sensors began guiding air strikes in Nagorno-Karabakh in violation of end-user assurances and arguably against Canadian interests in the region.
As the documents released to this committee demonstrate, Canadian officials continued pushing for the approval of Wescam SCAM exports to Turkey merely three weeks before violence resumed in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Canada's recent revocation of permits for certain Turkish-bound weapons is indeed a welcome move and one that has concrete impact, as this technology is not easily or immediately replaceable. However, it comes on the heels of a major failure in Canada's regulation of the trade and transfer of weapons. In order to effectively control Canadian arms exports, the Government of Canada must apply risk assessment standards universally and unconditionally, unfettered by political considerations or fear of upsetting potential customers.
Thank you.