Time for Canada to Strengthen the Rule of Law Internationally

Canada must do more to strengthen the rule of law internationally by demonstrating greater respect for existing laws. Doing so will help other nations working to revive and dignify the institution of the United Nations.

At the national level, respect for the rule of law requires everyone, including the head of state, the government and the judiciary, to be bound by the constitution, and by our laws. Enforcement is crucial for upholding the rule of law. Without enforcement, peace, order and good governance are diminished; law loses its force and is reduced to an ineffective tenet of theoretical aspirations. This principle is equally applicable to international law. Justice for the Canada goose is thereby seen as good for the globalizing gander too. 

As the preamble of the United Nations Charter reminds us, the United Nations exists “to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war” and to “establish conditions under which…respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained”. Article 1 of the Charter goes on to state that the United Nations was established, among other purposes, “to take collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace and for the suppression of acts of aggression….”

Since the UN’s inception, the veto power has been exercised with increasing frequency, with the consequence of paralyzing the Security Council’s mandate to take measures to end breaches of the peace. The effectiveness of, and respect for, the international rule of law is jeopardized with each misuse of the so-called ‘veto privilege’. This is evident when it is invoked to block measures taken to address atrocity crimes and the crime of aggression. 

WFM-Canada, with support from civil society and experts in international law, is urging our government to take a leadership role in drafting the formal introduction of a General Assembly resolution that refers questions to the ICJ, as to the legal limitations of the veto power in such situations. But before Canada can hope to inspire others to take the necessary steps to curb the veto power, it must first put its own house in order.

A recent example of the misuse of the veto occurred in November 2025 when a draft resolution, presented by Sierra Leone and the United Kingdom, condemning the continued assault by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on the city of El Fasher in Sudan and calling upon the parties to cease hostilities, was vetoed by Russia, with all other members of the Security Council voting in favour. This was a clear example of the misuse of the veto that our initiative seeks to end.

One need only reflect on the devastation that has continued in Sudan since November 2025. Over 30 million civilians are in desperate need of humanitarian assistance and a similar number are facing acute hunger. In early July, the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC reported to the United Nations Security Council that it found reasonable grounds to believe that war crimes and crimes against humanity were being committed in Darfur. On November 14, 2025, Baroness Chapman, a member of the United Kingdom House of Lords, said “ongoing impunity, and reticence from the international community means the conflict in Sudan is now the largest humanitarian crisis of the 21st century”. Involvement by state actors in the region complicates the issues, and frustrates efforts to arrive at a diplomatic solution.

There are dozens of similar examples since 1945 of Permanent Members of the Security Council using their veto to block life-saving resolutions in order to protect their own economic and geopolitical interests, and those of their allies.

Canada does often act forcefully. For instance in a statement issued December 4, 2024, Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly condemned “in the strongest possible terms the ongoing conflict in Sudan”, calling “on all parties to end hostilities” without identifying which party or parties are responsible. It took Canada a full year to identify the problem when the government made a statement with 15 other countries on November 10, 2025, which acknowledged the important work being done to document “the nature of the violations committed by the RSF” and noting that “impunity must end and accountability must be upheld”.

However, when Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney visited the United Arab Emirates recently, the focus was on expanding Canada’s trading relationship with that country. The reports of his meeting with the government of the United Arab Emirates did not reflect discussions about the country’s alleged complicity with these crimes.

The Genocide Convention creates obligations on all signatories, of which Canada one, to do everything that is reasonable and possible to terminate this situation. Expanding a trade relationship that is already worth billions of dollars a year does not pay proper respect to our international obligations.

The Gaza war is another situation in which Canada has failed to take appropriate measures with respect to international law; a situation that could have been resolved had the international community been able to enforce numerous UN resolutions addressing Israel’s illegal occupation of the Palestinian Territories as defined by partition under UN Security Council Resolution 181 in 1947. Canada’s oft stated support for a two-state solution is frequently reiterated, but without action there is insufficient effect. Bold action has been, and is still, required.

The rules-based order, one based on international law, has been on life support since Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine. After Gaza, and with the crisis in Sudan worsening daily, it now hangs by a thread. Upholding the rules-based world order starts by applying its rules without distinction or favour, and by defending the institutions mandated to implement them. In other situations where these international rules are routinely ignored or violated, we have put numerous sanctions in place, while other violators are spared from any meaningful consequences. After years of unheeded pleas for equality of justice for all, humanity continues with business as usual. We do so at our ongoing peril. This can change, and it must change to ensure the world will be better governed by the rules based order. 

Canada is not the only UN member state that fails to apply equal distinction to crises when others fail to comply with UNSC resolutions addressing war crimes and crimes against humanity. When atrocity crimes are perpetrated, or continue to be perpetrated, even on a lesser scale, we can often point to a lack of enforcement as the cause. Such  impunity leads instantly to a degradation of the rule of law.

But Canada can correct course. We were once a more respected nation, precisely because we worked to strengthen international law. We were a major contributor to, and “Canada” was synonymous with, UN peacekeeping. We could be relied upon to contribute forces when called upon. In previous times we did not have to compete so vigorously to win a seat on the Security Council. Many Canadians still see themselves reflected in that history, but less so as time passes.

WFM-Canada is advocating for a return to that meritorious standing on the world stage.  We call on the government of Canada to take a leadership role in restoring respectability to the UN. An opinion from the ICJ as to existing legal limitations of the veto would be a powerful first step. 

Humanity is bound together in common purpose like never before and the times cry out for action. Will Canada answer the call?

Mondial is published by the Citizens for Global Solutions (CGS) and World Federalist Movement — Canada (WFM-Canada), non-profit, non-partisan, and non-governmental Member Organizations of the World Federalist Movement-Institute for Government Policy (WFM-IGP). Mondial seeks to provide a forum for diverse voices and opinions on topics related to democratic world federation. The views expressed by contributing authors herein do not necessarily reflect the organizational positions of CGS or WFM-Canada, or those of the Masthead membership.