UN Disability Rights Committee Slams ‘Deceptive’ Canada for Continued Arms Exports to Israel

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Last week, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities delivered a strong message: Canada must cease arms exports that may be contributing to grave human rights violations against people with disabilities, including in Gaza.

The Committee’s comments came as part of its recent review of Canada’s record under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the world’s leading disability rights treaty. In its concluding observations from the review, the Committee admonished Canada for failing to adequately monitor its military exports to ensure that they are not used to facilitate violations of disability rights and block access to humanitarian assistance. In particular, the Committee condemned loopholes in Canada’s arms export regime that allow military parts and components to be exported to the United States—where they are integrated into weapons systems and re-exported to other countries such as Israel.

The Committee’s conclusions were driven by growing evidence of the devastating impact of armed conflict on persons with disabilities, including in Gaza. The Committee cited a March report by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (A/HRC/58/41), which highlights how authorized arms transfers—including weapons used by Israel in Gaza—have caused severe rights violations. 

The Committee made its observations following a report submitted by the International Human Rights Program (IHRP) at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, endorsed by more than 70 disability rights, human rights, labour, faith-based, and community organizations. The report documented the consequences of Canadian arms transfers on Palestinians with disabilities in Gaza—including hospitals and rehabilitation centres bombed, assistive devices destroyed, medical evacuations rendered inaccessible, and life-saving treatment cut off by siege and airstrikes.

“Palestinians with disabilities face a higher risk of being killed or detained; less access to humanitarian aid; and an inaccessible environment worsened by infrastructure destruction,” said Shatha Abusrour, Coordinator of the Palestinian Disability Coalition. “Most organizations working with us have been demolished, as well as most hospitals. Many with disabilities cannot comply with or even access evacuation warnings. Thousands of Palestinians have also acquired permanent disabilities.

“Many of us now wonder whether the promises of human rights apply to Palestinians too,” said Abusrour.

The IHRP report also noted that while Canada has stopped issuing new permits to export arms to Israel directly, there is evidence that at least some such exports are simply being re-routed through the US. This is due to a loophole that allows most military exports to go to the US without requiring an individual permit. For other destinations, an exporter must apply for an individual permit to export military goods or technology from Canada.

During hearings at the United Nations in Geneva, Committee members pressed Canadian officials on Canada's continued exports to Israel, and raised concerns about the thousands of Palestinians acquiring disabilities as a result of the conflict. “I want to ask what measures Canada is taking to cease the trade in arms that passes through the United States, hurting the population of Gaza and leaving many people with disabilities,” asked Committee member Amalia Gamio Ríos.

Canada’s partial and evasive response on this question—which addressed only direct arms exports to Israel and dodged the issue of indirect arms exports through the US—drew sharp rebukes from the Committee. “Your answer appears a little deceptive,” said Ms. Gamio. “There seems to be a missing element,” echoed fellow Committee member Markus Schefer.

“Canada cannot claim to uphold disability rights while fueling a system that abandons, endangers, and kills people with disabilities in Gaza,” said James Yap, Acting Director of the IHRP. “The Committee has made it clear that Canada must confront the human rights consequences of its export policies — including indirect exports routed through the United States.”

The Committee called on Canada to bring its arms exports into full compliance with the Arms Trade Treaty, international humanitarian law, and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It also urged Canada to implement human rights due diligence legislation and to cease any transfers contributing to grave violations.

This now marks the second time that a UN Committee has specifically called out Canada for continued inaction on arms exports to Israel. In October 2024, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women called for transparency and accountability in Canada’s arms exports, citing concerns over “violations of women’s and girls’ human rights as well as of international humanitarian law, notably in Gaza.” 

“People with disabilities in Gaza are being abandoned, isolated, and killed,” said Nabila Khan, Research Associate at the IHRP. “Canada cannot turn away from the human rights impact of its exports.”

The Committee’s findings add to growing international concern over Canada’s role in fueling human rights abuses abroad. Canada should end all direct and indirect arms transfers that risk fueling grave human rights violations and adopt an export regime that protects, rather than endangers, people with disabilities.

For more information and media inquiries, please contact:
James Yap – james.yap@utoronto.ca
Nabila Khan – nabila.khan@utoronto.ca