Nukes put Canada between UN rock and a hard place
OTTAWA The unfolding North Korean nuclear crisis is exposing Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government to international criticism that it is too soft on nuclear disarmament — and too close to the sabre-rattling Trump administration.
International antinuclear activists call it a development that could have ominous implications for the government’s bid to win a temporary seat on the United Nations Security Council in 2019.
Trudeau called on the Security Council to take “decisive action” against North Korea following Sunday’s report of a nuclear detonation by Pyongyang — the latest in a summer of provocations on the Korean Peninsula.
However, Canada has not supported a broader effort by the full UN General Assembly to create a treaty that would outlaw nuclear weapons, a document that opens for signing when world leaders meet in New York later this month.
More than 120 countries support the treaty, and with Canada seeking a temporary seat on the UN Security Council in 2019, two international anti-nuclear groups say Canada’s stance could hurt its ability to win a seat. Countries vying for a seat on the UN’s most powerful body need the support of at least 128 countries in the General Assembly.
The treaty has no support among the countries that actually have nuclear weapons, including the United States, and their military allies, including NATO and Canada.
“While we’ve seen a lot of nice words come out of the Trudeau government, policies haven’t really followed — not on nuclear weapons, and not on other weapons issues that Canada has traditionally led on,” Beatrice Fihn, the head of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, said Tuesday from Geneva.
“Even if you’re in a military alliance, your military alliance can’t be based on having to support Donald Trump’s threats to use weapons of mass destruction.”