FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – 40+ Organizations Call on UN to Review Canada’s Role in Enabling Violations of Civil and Political Rights in Gaza

TORONTO, ON – Over 40 civil society organizations across Canada, the United States, and Palestine are calling on the United Nations to address Canada’s role in enabling grave human rights violations in Gaza through its arms exports to Israel, as detailed in a new report submitted yesterday to the UN Human Rights Committee. 

The report, prepared jointly by the International Human Rights Program (IHRP) at the University of Toronto Henry N. R. Jackman Faculty of Law, the Canadian Lawyers for International Human Rights (CLAIHR), and the Global Human Rights Clinic at the University of Chicago Law School, was submitted as part of the Human Rights Committee’s upcoming periodic review of Canada under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The report documents how Canada’s insufficiently regulated arms export regime — including indirect exports routed to Israel through third countries like the United States — contributes to violations of Canada’s obligations under the Covenant.  

“Canada’s failure to regulate arms exports to Israel has led to devastating impacts on Gazans’ civil and political rights,” said Sandra Wisner, IHRP Director, “Our report urges the UN to call on Canada to align its actions with its international human rights commitments, including the prevention of genocide.” 

As of January 2026, it is estimated that over 70,117 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 2023. UNICEF estimates that a “staggering” 64,000 children have been killed or maimed during this time.  

“International law is clear: states must not transfer arms where there is a substantial risk they will be used to commit serious human rights violations,” said Nabila Khan, IHRP Research Associate. “Canada’s reputation as a defender of human rights is fundamentally undermined by its actions.”  

As credible evidence of Israeli war crimes in Gaza escalated dramatically, so too did Canada’s military support to Israel. Between October and December 2023 alone, the Canadian government authorized new permits totaling at least C$28.5 million of military exports to Israel. In contrast, the total value of such permits issued in all of the previous year amounted to just over C$21 million. 

“Even where Canada claims to have paused direct exports, it continues to facilitate arms transfers through a loophole that allows Canadian weapons and components to flow to Israel via the United States without meaningful oversight,” said James Yap, President of CLAIHR. “This practice undermines Canada’s stated commitments and allows the government to evade accountability.” 

The UN Human Rights Committee will consider the submission during its upcoming periodic review of Canada during its 145th session in Geneva in March 2026. Lawyers and students from the IHRP and CLAIHR will travel to Geneva to present their findings in-person.  

The submission urges the Human Rights Committee to issue several key recommendations to Canada, including cancelling or suspending all active existing permits to export arms to Israel and closing the current loophole for indirect arms exports to Israel by imposing export controls for all military exports to all countries, or, alternatively, controls on the reexport of Canadian military exports to a third country. 

Read the full submission here. 

Contact Information: 

Nabila Khan, nabila.khan@utoronto.ca

Research Associate, International Human Rights Program University of Toronto Faculty of Law 

James Yap, james.yap@gmail.com 

President, Canadian Lawyers for International Human Rights 

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