Montreal, December 6, 2019 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is deeply disappointed to see Canada revert back to anti-Palestinian voting pattern at the UN. Two weeks ago, Canada surprised the world when it broke its nearly fifteen-year anti-Palestinian voting pattern and supported a vote for Palestinian self-determination. Following the vote, Canadian media was abuzz with speculation that Canada would reverse other UN votes on Israel-Palestine. This week however, Canada once again voted against a series of resolutions affirming Palestinian human rights, signalling to the world that it will continue to vote in lockstep with Israel and the United States at the UN.

The proposal for the establishment of a nuclear weapons-free zone (NWFZ) in the Middle East was formally introduced by Iran and Egypt in a resolution submitted to the UN General Assembly in 1974. This UN resolution initiated the global push for nuclear disarmament in the region. In 1995, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference adopted a resolution which called upon states to take the necessary measures to ensure the establishment of a NWFZ in the Middle East. Despite officially supporting the creation of a NWFZ in the Middle East, Canada has consistently voted against resolutions that call upon Israel to sign the NPT and dismantle its nuclear weapons program. It has also repeatedly blocked resolutions calling for a regional conference on the establishment of a NWFZ. Canada should play a more active role in advancing negotiations on a NWFZ in the Middle East. Instead of blocking attempts to convene a conference on this matter, Canada should lead the push for disarmament in the region. Canada should leverage its relationship with Israel in order to encourage its participation in disarmament negotiations. 

This chart compares the various violent incidents cited by Scott Reid's Motion 153 and shows how they fail to relate to each other, contrary to what the motion suggests.              

CJPME Factsheet, published May, 2019. This factsheet discusses how the Israeli government intends to formally annex the illegal settlements within the West Bank and the implications of such an action.