@ISIDEWITHQuestionsForeign policyStarted 1yr agoActive 4wks ago

Should there be restrictions on government arms sales to countries accused of committing human rights violations?

The United Nations defines human rights violations as deprivation of life; torture, cruel or degrading treatment or punishment; slavery and forced labor; arbitrary arrest or detention; arbitrary interference with privacy; war propaganda; discrimination; and advocacy of racial or religious hatred. In 1997 the U.S. Congress passed the “Leahy Laws” which cutoff security aid to specific units of foreign militaries if the Pentagon and the State Department determine a country has committed a gross violation of human rights, such as shooting civilians or summarily executing prison…  

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Response rates from 2.3k Canada voters.

86%
Yes
14%
No
80%
Yes
10%
No
4%
Yes, and ban all sales to countries with human rights violations
4%
No, this could prevent our allies from defending themselves against our mutual enemies
2%
Yes, but I would prefer a ban on all military aid to any foreign countries

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Other Popular Answers

Unique answers from Canada voters whose views went beyond the provided options.

 @B2XR6VFfrom Ontario  answered…4wks4W

I don't support making any decisions on "accusations". Accusation is not guilt. Current politics, and more specifically propaganda makes it very difficult to tell what accusations are likely to be real, and those that have a political agenda.

 @B2SWR5Qfrom Ontario  answered…1mo1MO

In general yes, however any accusations of Israel violating national law are false, there fore I believe it arms sales need to be examined on a case by case basis.

 @B2LWMKFfrom Saskatchewan  answered…1mo1MO

Yes, I don't think we should be providing arms to any country but can provide military aid when needed.

 @9ZYVF3Mfrom Ontario  answered…3mos3MO

if we are allies we should support them, but If they committed human rights violations the arms sales should be reduced

 @9ZNXRCYfrom Ontario  answered…4mos4MO

Yes for the most part but, keep selling to countries that we are allied with, regardless of their stance on human rights.

 @9WYDMSDfrom British Columbia  answered…4mos4MO

Yes, we should not give any weapons to the government of an occupying force, any government actively committing genocide and should focus mainly on arming and funding liberation movements, people fighting against a dictator or foreign occupier.

 @9RFBPZVanswered…8mos8MO

Accused is not proof. I'd need access to unbiased, specific, and accurate knowledge to have an opinion

 @9RC2QHKfrom Nova Scotia  answered…8mos8MO

No, depending on whether fhe country is under duress by another country with even greater human rights violations, the subject must be handled with nuance.

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 @ISIDEWITH submitted…4mos4MO

Peace Over Party: Arab American Leaders Stun Democrats with Mass Trump Endorsement

Former President Trump earned endorsements from "highly respected" Muslim leaders and Imams during a campaign rally in the battleground state of Michigan. Trump, speaking to a crowd in Novi, Michigan, on Saturday afternoon, called the group of Muslim leaders "highly respected," before bringing them onstage."I’m thrilled to accept the endorsement of these highly respected leaders," Trump told the thundering crowd.The group of leaders cited Trump’s commitment to ending wars and ensuring global peace as a primary reason for their support, describing him as a leader who "promises peace, not war.""We, as Muslims, stand with President Trump because he promises peace, not war!" Imam Belal Alzuhairi said. "We are supporting Donald Trump because he promised to end war in the Middle East and Ukraine," Alzuhairi said. "The bloodshed has to stop all over the world, and I think this man can make that happen. I personally believe that God saved his life twice for a reason.""We're going to stop the wars, we're going to make the United States safe again, and we're going to make the world safe," Bazzi said."What a nice endorsement," Trump said after Bazzi’s speech. "These are great people."The Muslim leaders official endorsement came after Amer Ghalib, the mayor of the Detroit-area suburb Hamtramck, announced his support of Trump in a Facebook post on Oct. 20."Though it’s looking good, he may or may not win the election and be the 47th president of the United States, but I believe he is the right choice for this critical time," Ghalib wrote in Arabic on his Facebook page. "I’ll not regret my decision no matter what the outcome would be, and I’m ready to face the consequences. For this, and for many other reasons, I announce my support and endorsement for the former, and hopefully, the next President of the United States, Donald Trump."Ghalib’s endorsement of Trump comes after the two met in Flint earlier this week for a private 20-minute conversation. Ghalib told The Detroit News that Trump "knew a lot about me before the meeting." "We talked about various topics including the debates, the polls updates, the statistics of votes in Michigan and Wayne County, the Arab American concerns and the Yemeni Americans in particular. We also talked about the situation in Yemen," Ghalib said.

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Active 7hrs ago

 @ISIDEWITH submitted…3mos3MO

Defense Bill Blocks Transgender Care To Minors

The Senate on Wednesday gave final approval to a defense policy bill directing $895 billion toward the Pentagon and other military activities, moving over the objections of some Democrats who opposed a provision added late in the negotiations that would deny coverage for transgender health procedures for minors.The 85-to-14 vote, coming a week after a divided House passed the same measure, cleared the bill for President Biden’s signature.Most Republicans and many Democrats supported the measure, which provides a 14.5 percent pay raise to junior enlisted service members and a 4.5 percent pay raise for all other service members. It also expands access to meal assistance, housing and child care programs that benefit those in uniform.But several Democrats withheld their backing in protest of a provision preventing TRICARE, the military’s health care plan for service members, from covering “medical interventions for the treatment of gender dysphoria that could result in sterilization” for children under 18.The language, which would affect the gender-transitioning children of service members, was recently added to the measure at the insistence of Speaker Mike Johnson, Republican of Louisiana, who refused to bring a defense bill to the House floor without it, according to aides familiar with the negotiations.Twenty-one Democrats, led by Senator Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, proposed an amendment to strip the provision from the bill, but the matter was never brought to a vote. Several of them took to the floor on Tuesday to lodge their objections.“It’s flat-out wrong to put this provision in this bill and take away a service member’s freedom to make that decision for their families,” Ms. Baldwin said, estimating that the provision could negatively affect as many as 6,000 to 7,000 military families.

▲  2019 replies4 agree1 disagree6