The international Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) is a multilateral treaty that regulates the international trade in conventional weapons. 130 of 193 UN member states have already signed it. This position paper explains why Canada should also sign it. Even more, this paper lays recommendations on how to handle the situation in Egypt and other high authoritarian regimes in the Middle East.

CJPME is pleased to publish the next of a 15 part election series analyzing the positions of Canada’s political parties. CJPME hopes that, by revealing what parties have said and done on key Middle East issues, Canadians will be better informed voters in the upcoming elections. Our next analysis studies each party’s position on the arrest, detention and trials of Al Jazeera journalist Mohamed Fahmy in Egypt.

CJPME is pleased to publish the next of a 15 part election series analyzing the positions of Canada’s political parties. CJPME hopes that, by revealing what parties have said and done on key Middle East issues, Canadians will be better informed voters in the upcoming elections. Our next studies each party’s position on the arrest and detention of John Greyson and Tarek Loubani during the summer 2013 Egyptian unrest.

Montreal, February 3, 2015 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) questions the appropriateness of a recently announced police training agreement between Canada and Egypt.  Under the agreement, Canadian police would travel to Egypt to train Egyptian officers, and a number of Egyptian police officers would come to train at the Canadian Police College in Ottawa. CJPME opposes this agreement given that the current Egyptian government is widely condemned for civil liberties and human rights abuses against its people.  Most of the abuses cited have been carried out by Egypt’s Interior Ministry, the very ministry whose staff would receive training from Canadian police experts.  

Montreal, June 23, 2014 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME)—a grassroots citizens’ group— believes the Canadian government’s indifference directly contributed to today’s conviction and sentencing of Canadian journalist Mohamed Fahmy. An Egyptian court convicted Fahmy and two other Aljazeera journalists on charges of aiding terrorism and falsifying news. Fahmy and Australian journalist Peter Greste were sentenced to seven years in prison, and Egyptian producer Baher Mohamed to ten years. Amnesty International observers of the trial commented that the prosecution failed to produce a single shred of solid evidence for either charge. As noted by Amnesty International, Fahmy and the other Al Jazeera crew members were simply doing their jobs as a news crew.