Today we learned that Canada will be making a bid for a seat on the UN Human Rights Council. If Canada wants to be taken seriously as a broker for human rights internationally, it must do more to support Palestinian human rights, and stop providing cover for Israeli abuses.
A 2020 survey found that a strong majority of Canadians wanted Canada to hold Israel accountable for its human rights violations, and to do more to protect Palestinian human rights. There is also a growing consensus in the international human rights community that Israel is practicing apartheid against Palestinians, yet Canada has so far failed to explain why it has rejected detailed reports on the matter.
Canada’s UN voting record on Palestine is among the most abysmal in the world. It has overwhelmingly failed to hold Israel accountable to basic standards of international law.
Peace and justice-seeking groups have been calling on Canada to take meaningful action to stop Israeli human rights abuses for years, including ending arms sales and trade with illegal Israeli settlements.
Canada has a key opportunity right now to improve its stance on Israel-Palestine by supporting a motion for a study on peace and justice-building initiatives at the Foreign Affairs committee. IJV Canada is calling on all members of the committee to support the motion.
For more information or for further comment, contact communications@ijvcanada.org.