Canadian Foreign Minister to Investigate WESCAM Sensors Use in Armenia and Azerbaijan
Written by: Morgana Adby
Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne has announced he will be investigating the use of Canadian manufactured sensors exported to Turkey. This follows new evidence that Canada may not be doing due diligence to ensure that the exports are not used in violation of international law.
Last week, tensions in Armenia and Azerbaijan boiled over. Now, fresh allegations that Canadian WESCAM sensors have been involved in the violence prompt the Minister’s inquiry.
A recent Project Ploughshares report has alleged that Canada is not upholding the Arms Trade Treaty by exporting L3Harris WESCAM sensors to be used in Turkish military operations. The most popular export, the MX-15 is critical for carrying out drone strikes in the region. Not including the U.S, Turkey rose to Canada’s third largest military export recipient in 2019. That $152.4-milion is not exclusive to WESCAM exports, but the manufacturing giant takes a large chunk of the pie.
There are challenges with tracking this export data. As the report says, Global Affairs Canada’s numbers have mathematical discrepancies which may “relate to a longstanding and problematic GAC practice of double-counting exports that can fit into more than one category.” The report says WESCAM sensors fall into that category and has made the numbers less accurate, “since 2017, when such exports began trending upwards.”
That said, the report also reviews other sources of data such as data from Statistics Canada to triangulate their working estimates. Data issues are just another reason for Minister Champagne to take a fresh look into WESCAM exports to Turkey.
The report explains that sensors have been used to combat Kurdish unrest in the southeast of Turkey and in proxy conflicts within Syria and Iraq. As the proxy war in Libya heated up during the summer of 2020, Turkey has expanded its influence.
There are allegations that Turkey has provided Canadian WESCAM sensors to the Libyan government. These were not denied by the Turkish Embassy—they instead claim that military support has not been used to abuse human rights. It told CBC that "In Libya, Turkey is supporting the legitimate government against a warlord, [Khalifa] Haftar, and this is in line with the international law.”
In 2019, Canada participated in a trade embargo with Turkey in response to operations in Syria. An exception was requested for WESCAM sensors because they are essential for Turkish drone strikes. The exception was granted, and remains in place.
It is worth noting all of the conflicts mentioned in this article have civilian casualties. Although estimating the numbers of civilian casualties is difficult, the current counts trouble domestic watchdogs.
For example, in the 2019 invasion of Syria which displaced at least 160 000 Kurds, was accompanied by Turkish air strikes.
As the Project Ploughshares report reads, “Airwars—an organization that records civilian casualties—reported that a conservative estimate of civilian casualties was between 172 and 225 killed and between 419 and 553 wounded from airstrikes, artillery, and other attacks by Turkey and its allies.”
Calls to end WESCAM exports to Turkey have been renewed since September 27, when violence in the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh erupted. Azerbaijan leadership says that Armenia cannot continue to occupy their territory forever. Whereas Armenia’s position is that Azerbaijan has been the aggressor in recent days. Turkey supports Azerbaijan in their claim to the territory, but denies any military involvement in the recent events.
On Sunday, Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, reached out to the U.S. for support in the conflict and to inquire about U.S. F-16 jets’ role in the violence.
Meanwhile, Armenians in Canada are raising the alarm about WESCAM sensors' role in escalating violence in the region.
Armenian National Committee of Canada’s executive director, Sevag Belian told CTV News, "It makes us sick to our stomachs to find out that Canadian technology is being used to facilitate the loss of life and these abhorrent crimes that are being committed by Turkey in Azerbaijan."
Relevant Reading: Unmasking Canada’s role in the drone wars
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