Post Date: May 21, 2020
Analysis of Canada, Norway and Ireland’s votes at the United Nations in regard to Palestine during the 21st century revealed that
- Ireland has voted YES 251 times and Norway has voted YES 249 times
- Canada has voted YES, 87 times but 85 of those were from 2000 to 2010
- Canada voted NO 166 times, while Norway and Ireland have never once voted NO
- Canada has abstained 49 times, with Ireland and Norway respectively abstaining 65 and 67 times
- Since 2010, Canada has only 2 times voted YES,
- in one of those cases in 2011, it was actually in regard to a “Report of the Secretary-General on the strengthening of the management capacity of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East”
- the second was the “orphan” vote in December 2019, which supported self-determination for the Palestinian people. There was indication by some that this was a signal “Canada was back.” Canada had last voted YES to self-determination in 2005. It would seem more accurate to suggest that this was a gesture to those countries that would expect Canada to support Palestine if they were to grace Canada with their vote for Canada’s UNSC seat bid.
- Canada had voted YES to self-determination from 2001, when the self-determination resolution was first introduced until 2005.
- The CBC suggested in December 2019, that “Canada had reversed its recent voting history.”
- A 14 year hiatus after a 5 year period of support for the self-determination of the Palestinian people is hardly a “come back” from “recent voting history.”
- From 2000 to 2003, Canada voted YES for most motions, abstaining on a couple each year, but not voting NO. However, this began to change in 2004, with a NO vote, and by 2007 there was an equal number of 7 each of YES and NO votes. By 2011, there were 15 NO votes, and this has continued since that time.
- From 2011 Canada abstained on the vote in regard to support for refugees, and also in regard to the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, but by 2015 and 2016, the only abstention was in regard to support for refugees. Even though under the Liberal government in 2015, UNRWA funding began to be restored, after having been removed by the Conservative Harper government, still there was not support by Canada in regard to the annual UN resolution calling for support for refugees.
- In 2016 and 2017 Canada did also abstain in regard to the resolution on the status of Jerusalem. Albeit it in 2018, the year that the USA moved its embassy to Jerusalem, Canada switched to a NO vote. In 2019, Canada continued with its voting pattern of NO except for abstaining in regards to support for refugees and its orphan vote regarding self-determination.
- Since 2015, Canada has voted 67 times against Palestinian resolutions at the United Nations.
Analysis included year by year review of total votes for each resolution, and specifically Canada, Norway and Ireland votes for each United Nations Resolution from 2000 to 2019.
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