Volker Türk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, has concluded his visit to Mexico.
On April 20, the Peace Brigades International-Mexico Project posted on social media: “At the start of High Commissioner @volker_turk’s visit to Mexico, @PBI_Mexico accompanied the meeting he held with representatives of civil society organizations, where the importance of strengthening dialogue and coordination between the government and civil society organizations was expressed.”
Espacio OSC also posted on social media: “During @volker_turk’s visit from @UNHumanRights, we delivered this letter regarding violence against human rights #humanrights defenders and journalists, and we called for action to promote the recommendations issued by @ONUDHmexico [the Mexico Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Defense and promotion of the rights of all persons] to strengthen the @Mecanismo_MX [Protection Mechanism].”
Statement by Volker Türk
On April 22, at the end of his visit to Mexico, Türk stated:
“I conclude my visit to Mexico with this press conference. It has been a very fruitful visit that has allowed me to learn first-hand about both the achievements and the challenges facing the country in terms of human rights.
The challenge of violence against journalists and human rights defenders continues unabated. Women defenders and reporters face aggravated risks, especially when they challenge organized crime, corruption, or gender-based violence.
I had the opportunity to listen to several and diverse testimonies of defenders of indigenous peoples, environmental peoples, LGTBI+ people, or victims of the abuse of informal pretrial detention, among others, who have paid an unimaginable price for defending rights.
The Protection Mechanism for Human Rights Defenders and Journalists is a very relevant model and a benchmark in the region, particularly for its governance scheme that actively incorporates civil society. Ensuring timely access for those who require it and consolidating their prevention capacity will enhance their effectiveness.
I spoke with the Attorney General of the Republic [Ernestina Godoy Ramos] and we agreed that the capacity for investigation must be increased after any attack on defenders and journalists. I hope that the investigation protocol for crimes against human rights defenders, in the drafting of which my Office has participated, will be adopted and implemented as soon as possible.”
Canada-Mexico Human Rights Dialogue
PBI-Canada looks forward to providing input for the upcoming Canada-Mexico Dialogue on Human Rights and Multilateral Affairs expected to take place in late-May in Ottawa. The thematic issues to be discussed include freedom of expression, media freedom and rights in the digital space, the theme under which the Protection Mechanism is expected to be discussed by the two countries.
We are now planning a second webinar with PBI-Mexico and Espacio OSC in advance of the Canada-Mexico Dialogue on Human Rights and Multilateral Affairs.
The Peace Brigades International-Guatemala Project has posted on social media:
“On Friday [April 17] #PBI accompanied the Maya Ch’orti’ Indigenous Council of Olopa Chiquimula in its support to the Council of Ancestral Authorities of San Juan Ermita during its first meeting with the mayor of the municipality. An important step for dialogue and collective work by the community.”
Territorial defence against mining
PBI-Guatemala has previously explained: “The Maya Ch’orti’ Indigenous Council of Olopa are fighting for recognition as indigenous communities, the recovery of their spirituality, the defense of their territory and the right to free, prior and informed consultation before the entry of mining projects into their territory. They also seek to minimize the negative impacts of mining activities on the health of the people in their communities, denounce illegal logging and fight against gender violence in their communities.”
Accompaniment
Peace Brigades International began accompanying the Maya Ch’orti’ Indigenous Council of Olopa in June 2021, following their request, which is based on the serious increase in security incidents, defamation and criminalization.
Photo: Organizers turn cars away during a shift change outside the Safran Electronics & Defense Canada Inc. facility in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. Photo by Irene Suvillaga (Canadian Dimension magazine, March 2024).
Safran is both a sponsor and an exhibitor at the CANSEC arms show taking place at the EY Centre in Ottawa on May 27-28, 2026.
In their “Guide to French arms companies complicit with Israel, 2025 Edition”, Stop Arming Israel (France) notes: “Specializing in aero engines, equipment for civil and military aviation, and advanced electronics, Safran employs nearly 100,000 people worldwide, including more than 45,000 in France across its numerous subsidiaries, with around 20% of its business dedicated to the military sector.”
That Guide highlights: “In 2024, Safran Aircraft Engines placed an order with the Israeli startup Odysight.ai to acquire its predictive maintenance system based on micro-cameras combined with artificial intelligence software that analyzes the operating status of an aircraft in real time. This same technology is also used by the Israeli Air Force for its combat helicopters.”
Actions in France
Photo: Stop Arming Israel France co-organized an action in front of the headquarters of Safran to denounce the sale of arms to Israel.
In March 2024, Anadolu Agency reported: “Activists from the Stop Arming Israel organization in Paris held a protest in front of the headquarters of Safran… Marking a global day of action against arms companies ‘complicit in the genocide of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and West Bank’, member of Loic, one of the groups under Stop Arming Israel, told Anadolu that it was ‘mobilized in front of Safran Electronics and Defense headquarters in response of this call’. The group is there to ‘denounce the company’s complicity in the ongoing war,’ the member added.”
In December 2023, Workers in Palestine also noted: “The [Stop Arming Israel] collective, comprised of trade unionists, workers and activists have held frequent pickets of arms factories, arms fairs and university-based arms research centres, and have flyered workers at the Safran Genneviliers and Safran Velizy plants.”
Belgium
Stop Arming Israel (Belgium) has documented: “Safran Aero Boosters, 31% owned by the Walloon government, produces components for the American F-15 and F-16 warplanes in Herstal. These aircraft end up in the hands of the Israeli army and are used to bomb Palestine. …In Belgium, Safran has three operational sites: a production site for engines used for the F-15, a test center in Liers, and Safran Aircraft Engine Services in Zaventem and Steenokkerzeel.”
The Belgian news agency RTBF has also reported: “By analyzing in detail the types of fighter-bombers and the armies that use them, our experts are categorical: the engine parts manufactured by the Walloon company Safran Aero Boosters are indeed found in the reactors of Israeli F-15s and in particular in those used recently over Gaza or South Lebanon.”
In February 2024, the Palestinian Youth Movement noted: “Community members in Peterborough where Safran Electronics [is located] was shut down, as it provides telemetry equipment to the Israeli government and weapons manufacturers.”
Canadian Dimension further reports: “Just after dawn on February 26, a group of approximately 40 activists blocked both driveway entrances to the Safran Electronics & Defense Canada Inc. facility located in the south-end of Peterborough.”
The article explains: “In Canada, Safran’s direct subsidiary, Safran Electronics, employs over 1,700 workers at seven industrial sites across the country, including in Ajax, Montréal, Mirabel and London. Safran Electronics manufactures unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs or drones), military aircraft engines, optronic equipment and sites, as well as other components for military operations.”
That article in Canadian Dimension magazine by Professor Kirsten Francescone and freelance journalist Irene Suvillaga also notes: “A press release from 2021 identifies an agreement between Safran and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd., an Israeli defence company, to produce a proprietary battlefield targeting technology which is designed to ‘improve situational awareness for ground forces.’ Safran has also supplied surveillance equipment including fingerprint scanners and mounted camera systems to the Judea and Samaria police force in the occupied West Bank to uphold what Amnesty International has described as a system of ‘automated apartheid.’”
Photo by Irene Suvillaga (Canadian Dimension magazine, March 2024).
Hunger strike at McGill targets Safran
At the time of the blockade in Peterborough, Ontario, students at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec also began a hunger strike to demand that their university divest its shareholdings in Safran.
The McGill Daily has reported: “French company Safran supplied biometric technology to the Israeli Police Force operating in the West Bank in 2013. …McGill currently invests $1,507,748 in Safran.”
The Guardian also quoted Rania Amine, an undergraduate student at McGill University on her 33rd day of a hunger strike against these investments, saying: “McGill has ultimately pushed us to take this extreme form of action and put our bodies and our health and our lives on the line to make them know that it is absolutely unacceptable that they use our tuition money to invest in this way.” Middle East Eye reported that Rania was hospitalized on her 34th day of being on hunger strike.
Francescone and Suvillaga also note: “In 2023, Peace Brigades International reported that the RCMP special task force responsible for the militarized raids on the ancestral lands of the Wet’suwet’en nation in British Columbia utilize Airbus H145 helicopters, the engines for which are produced by Safran.”
Photo: The H145 is equipped to deploy the RCMP’s Emergency Response Team.
Vertical has reported: “The machine’s two Safran Helicopter Engines Arriel 2E turbines are equipped with full-authority digital engine control (FADEC), which integrates with the H145’s state-of-the-art Helionix avionics suite.” The link between the Airbus H145 and Safran Arriel engines is also made on this Safran website.
Shut Down CANSEC, May 27-28
A wide range of social movements, peace groups, faith communities, non-governmental organizations, and individuals will be mobilizing to protest the CANSEC arms show on Wednesday May 27 and Thursday May 28.
The webinar will bring together Laura Ferrer from Desarma Madrid, a “platform for the demilitarization of Madrid [that is] against arms fairs and other events”, Kirsten Bayes from the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT), “a UK-based organisation working to end the international arms trade”, and Simon Black from Labour Against the Arms Trade, a “coalition of peace and labour activists working to end Canada’s participation in the international arms trade”.
The webinar will be moderated by Brent Patterson from Peace Brigades International-Canada, an accompaniment organization that has linked the arms trade with violence against human rights defenders and communities.
The webinar will explore these questions with the panelists:
1-What is your organization doing to disrupt the arms trade in the city where you are located? What informs why you have taken on this work?
2-What is a key lesson that you have learned in this work?
3-What do you think would most strengthen the global movement to disrupt the arms trade? How do we take this to another level as we see military spending and militarism dramatically increase around the world?
4-What is next on your agenda? What is your next moment/next planned intervention to disrupt the arms trade?
5-What message do you have for those who will be mobilizing in Ottawa on May 27-28 to challenge the CANSEC arms show?
“Shut it Down: Global Actions Disrupting the Arms Trade” is jointly organized by Shut Down CANSEC, an Ottawa-based campaign to shut down the CANSEC arms show, and the International League of Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS), “an anti-imperialist and democratic formation” that works for “the cause of just peace” and “human rights in the civil, political, economic, social and cultural fields”.
Text: Global experts say no to ISDS. 300+ groups around the world call on countries to start freeing themselves from secretive tribunals.
Peace Brigades International has signed this statement in advance of a conference, hosted by Colombia and the Netherlands, that will take place in Santa Marta, Colombia, from April 24 to April 29, 2026.
The statement was signed by 340+ other organizations, notably the Colectivo de Abogados y Abogadas José Alvear Restrepo (CAJAR) in Colombia; the Residencia Pacífica La Puya in Guatemala; the Red de abogadas defensoras de derechos humanos in Honduras; and the Proyecto sobre Organización, Desarrollo, Educación e Investigación (PODER) in Mexico.
The statement says in part:
“Investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) threatens a just transition from fossil fuels and the urgent need for a social and ecological transformation for people and the planet. We welcome the recognition and inclusion of this risk within the thematic pillars of the First Conference on Transitioning Away From Fossil Fuels.
ISDS mechanisms are written into many trade and investment agreements. They entitle transnational corporations to sue governments in secretive tribunals outside of the national legal system over law and policy changes that they fear could reduce their profits. ISDS grants privileges to foreign investors that are unavailable to local businesses or ordinary citizens – especially the peoples and communities most affected by their investments.
We call on governments to begin building a coalition of governments committed to freeing themselves from all forms of ISDS.”
Stakeholder-led dialogues will take place from April 24-27, while the High-Level Segment will take place on April 28-29.
Those invited to the High-Level Segment include Ministers, representatives from sub national governments and cities, academia, the scientific community, Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant communities, frontline collectives, workers, and civil society organizations, among others.
PBI-Canada will be attending the presentation on Wednesday April 29 at Carleton University in Ottawa by Danilo “Ka Daning” Ramos, National Chairperson of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP/Peasant Movement of the Philippines).
PBI recently launched a Southeast Asia Project to accompany human rights defenders in the Philippines, Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Thailand.
The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP-Canada) has previously highlighted: “Ka Daning, a farmer himself, is a staunch human rights defender and environmentalist. KMP has effective leadership over a total of 1.3 million rural people with 65 provincial chapters and 15 regional chapters nationwide.”
AlterMidya has reported: “Ka Daning is a survivor of the 1987 Mendiola Massacre. He was among the tens of thousands of poor farmers from Luzon who marched to the then Ministry of Agrarian Reform and later to Mendiola. They were demanding free land distribution to the then Cory Aquino administration when the Philippine Constabulary (now PNP), opened fire at the protesting farmers, killing 13 and injuring scores of others.”
In February 2024, PAN Asia Pacific (PANAP) expressed “deep concern about the reported incidents of surveillance and red tagging that Danilo Ramos, chairperson of the Peasant Movement of the Philippines (KMP), has recently faced.”
They further noted: “Many cases of human rights violations, including political killings, involve activists red-tagged by the government. We are outraged that Ramos is facing real threats to his life for standing up for the rights of landless Filipino peasants.”
Attacks on HRDS in the Philippines
In September 2025, Global Witness stated: “Once again, the Philippines had the highest number of murders and long-term disappearances in Asia, with eight cases in 2024 – despite seeing a decrease in cases since 2023. At least six of these attacks were linked to government bodies, notably the armed forces in four cases. But violent attacks against land and environmental defenders – and killings and disappearances of human rights defenders more broadly – have not necessarily abated.”
Global Witness adds: “Filipino human rights alliance Karapatan documented 14 killings of human rights defenders in 2024.”
Between 2012 and 2023, at least 298 defenders were killed in the Philippines (the third highest in the world after Colombia and Brazil). The military was responsible for 64 out of 117 killings of Indigenous defenders in the Philippines during this period.
Ramos in Ottawa, April 29
In their promotion of Ramos speaking on April 29, Anakbayan Ottawa notes: “We will discuss the many struggles imposed upon Filipino farm workers and the Filipino population as a whole.”
“’The security situation is going to worsen,’ warns the Municipal Committee for the Defense of Common and Public Goods (CMDBCP).
In a meeting with PBI, the community of #Guapinol reported several signs that the thermoelectric plant is resuming operations, such as a lower river flow, evidence of earthmoving, and alleged hiring of staff in the area.
Added to this is the upcoming hearing regarding charges against Lenir Pérez, president of the group that operates the Los Pinares mining company, for illegal exploitation of natural resources in a protected area.
‘These three things—the trial, the possible reopening, and our security situation—go hand in hand,’ explain the defenders, who are calling for attention to the judicial proceedings taking place this Thursday and Friday.
Earlier this month, Criterio.hn reported: “Businessman Lenir Pérez, linked to the mining project denounced by Juan López and other defenders in the protected area, through the companies Inversiones Los Pinares and Inversiones Ecotek, both of the Emco Holding Group. Although Pérez is accused of crimes of illegal exploitation of natural resources and environmental damage in the Montaña de Botaderos Carlos Escaleras National Park, a judge recently allowed him to defend himself in freedom after paying a millionaire bail, without imposing restrictions such as the prohibition of leaving the country. The decision came amid questions about delays in the process, after the businessman’s representatives argued that he was not in the country.”
In March 2026, Criterio.hn also reported: “The indictment against Lenir Pérez and twelve other people for their alleged responsibility for environmental damage was filed nine days after the murder of the environmental leader and water defender, Juan López, coordinator of the Municipal Committee for the Defense of Common and Public Goods of Tocoa, a crime that continues in impunity.”
Accompaniment
The Peace Brigades International-Honduras Project has accompanied Municipal Committee for the Defence of Common and Public Goods of Tocoa (CMDBCPT) processes and Guapinol River defenders since January 2019.
PBI-Canada visited Tocoa and the Guapinol River in 2024.
On October 29, 2024, we drove almost 350 kilometres north-east from Tegucigalpa to the city of Tocoa, which is situated about 9 kilometres from the community of Guapinol. This visit came in the context of the death of Guapinol River defender Juan López, who was shot to death as he left church on the evening of September 14, 2024.
Photo: A poster of Juan López in Tocoa.
On the afternoon of October 30, 2024, we visited the Guapinol River, seeing the pelletizing plant associated with the Los Pinares megaproject, walked in the community, and met with community members to hear about the situation there.
Photos: PBI at Guapinol River in October 2024 and April 2026.
Photo shared by CNTC on social media of Black Mamba Sandcat armoured vehicle at eviction of ‘9 de Febrero’ community.
In March 2026, PBI-Canada alongside PBI-Honduras met with the National Union of Rural Workers (CNTC) in Tegucigalpa. Part of our conversation focused on the equipment and weapons used by the police and military to repress and arrest peasant farmers (campesinas and campesinos).
The U.S. International Trade Commission notes: “Major exporters of security equipment to Honduras are Israel, Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, and the United States.” In 2019, Israel was the largest supplier of arms to Honduras.
ContraCorriente has reported: “Israel has been one of Honduras’ most important partners for the purchase of security equipment. Data from the School of the Americas Watch indicate that between 2013 and 2019 alone, during the governments of Juan Orlando Hernández, Honduras bought around 342.8 million dollars (about 8,344 million lempiras) from Israel in war equipment and espionage.”
That relationship is likely to continue.
On January 18, 2026, ten days before being sworn in as the president of Honduras, Nasry Asfura flew to Jerusalem to meet with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu told Asfura: “I look forward to working with your government, both in economic fields and agriculture and technology in any of the areas that I think are laid before us. You should know that as far as Israel is concerned, the sky is the limit.”
Human rights violations
The Database of Israeli Military and Security Export (DIMSE) has noted: “Some units associated with abuse of authority, illegal detentions, homicide, torture, rape, extrajudicial killings and extensive use of force against demonstrators and activists use Israeli rifles (namely Tavor and Galil, surveillance systems, and cyber technologies.”
The article specifies that Tavor rifles are used by the National Anti Maras and Gangs Force (FNAMP) and the Galil rifles by the Military Police for Public Order (PMOP).
The Database also reports: “The Police Directorate of Investigations used [the Israeli company] Cellebrite for 939 phone extractions between 2017-2022. Among others it was used against environmental activists. …Official documents show that at least part of the Cellebrite systems were provided to Honduras by the US Department of State.”
CNTC condemns use of Black Mamba Sandcat armoured vehicles
On April 9, 2026, the National Union of Rural Workers (CNTC) condemned the eviction of the ‘7 de Febrero’ farming community.
The CNTC statement further notes: “We condemn the excessive military and police deployment, including the use of ‘Black Mamba’ armoured combat vehicles, which were used against humble families, treating them as if they were ‘terrorists’ or highly dangerous criminals.”
ContraCorriente has reported: “In 2023, a delegation of senior commanders of the Honduran National Police traveled to Israel to finalize the acquisition of technological security equipment, including 15 Black Mamba Sandcat armored vehicles for use in high-impact operations.”
It then notes: “[Honduran Security Minister Gustavo] Sánchez also did not specify where they were purchased; however, Israel’s ambassador to Honduras announced that he had been part of a collaboration with his government.”
And it explains: “The Mexican companies Transportadora de Protección y Seguridad (TPS Armoring) and Epel Tácticos obtained the license [from the U.S.-based company Oshkosh] to manufacture versions of the security equipment in their territory, including the Black Mamba Sandcat model, and it was precisely the company TPS Armoring that sold the equipment to Honduras.”
In February 2024, the Rio Times reported: “The Black Mambas are a joint effort by Mexican companies TPS Armoring and Epel Tácticos. …These vehicles, adapted from an Israeli design, signify how global technology can be tailored to local needs.”
And in June 2024, Proceso Digital explained: “The Honduran government bought 10 Black Mamba, six of which arrived in the country, the payments were made against delivery to an Israeli company that assembled them in Mexico.”
That article adds: “Each Black Mamba Sandcat cost Honduras a total of 13,052,500 lempiras ($526,573). The Black Mamba Sandcat or ‘Police Armadillo’ vehicles have modern security systems, weigh 8.2 tons, have state-of-the-art technology and spaces for 13 special forces agents with specialized drivers. The APC vehicle is part of a family of armored vehicles called Black Mamba and are the result of a partnership between two Mexican armor companies, TPS Armoring and Epel Tácticos, which developed a version for Mexican security needs based on the successful Israeli Sandcat.”
Arms fairs
ContraCorriente also reports: “The [Israeli ambassador to Honduras explained that] at the end of 2022, a high-level delegation attended a security technology fair [in Israel] where they chose security equipment [including] the Black Mambas.”
This could refer to Israel’s Defense Exposition (ISDEF) or perhaps more likely given the timing (late 2022), the Defense Tech Expo.
In April 2022, +972 Magazine reported: “ISDEF, the largest defense and homeland security trade show in the country, takes place every other year at Expo Tel Aviv. The most recent edition, hosted between March 21 and 23, drew 12,000 visitors from 90 countries around the world; most of them were representatives of private technology firms, police agencies, and militaries.”
DSEI
The United Kingdom-based Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) has explained that the International Defense Cooperation Directorate of the Israel Ministry of Defense (SIBAT) promotes Israeli arms exports around the world. CAAT adds that SIBAT regularly attends arms fairs around the world including DSEI in the UK.
CANSEC
The Canadian Association of Defense and Security Industries, the organizer of the annual CANSEC arms show, has noted that Israel will be one of the 60+ international delegations at CANSEC this coming May 27-28 in Ottawa.
It is further believed that SIBAT will be present.
Accompaniment
On March 3, 2026, PBI-Honduras, PBI-Canada coordinator Brent Patterson met with Franklin Almendares, General Secretary, and Rosa Santamaría, member of the National Board of Directors, of the CNTC at their office in Tegucigalpa.
As we told the CNTC at that time, PBI-Canada continues to highlight the role that military equipment and technology has in the repression of human rights defenders and communities.
The CNTC is affiliated with the Unified Confederation of Honduran Workers (CUTH) which in turn is affiliated with the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), along with 150+ labour organizations including the Canadian Labour Congress.
Peace Brigades International has accompanied the CNTC since May 2018.
Photo: Eric Schiller at the Palestinian Prisoners’ Day march in Ottawa, April 17, 2026. Photo by Brent Patterson.
The Globe and Mail article “Agents for change” features two activists connected with Peace Brigades International (PBI) who “are spending their twilight years fighting for the environment.”
Eric Schiller
The article reports that Eric Schiller, “who taught civic engineering at the University of Ottawa for 18 years, …traces his activist roots back to April 27, 1965, the day he heard Martin Luther King Jr. speak on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles. …Travelling with King through the southern U.S., Dr. Schiller learned that some laws were made to be broken. In Georgia, he spent three days in jail after attending an all-white church with Black friends.”
Schiller says: “If you want to be an agent for change, it’s not enough to talk.” The 90-year-old activist adds: “I want to die peacefully fighting.”
Photo: Eric Schiller holds sign at protest in Ottawa citing the Global Witness figure that 3 land and environmental defenders had been killed in each week of 2018.
Photo: Eric Schiller and Nick Alpin at the memorial service for Peace Brigades International founder Murray Thomson, October 23, 2019.
Lyn Adamson
The Globe and Mail also notes: “Lyn Adamson, a Pickering, Ont.-born Quaker who had spent much of her adult life up to [September 2012] opposing nuclear arms, supporting Indigenous advocacy and establishing housing co-ops, was spurred to action after Stephen Harper’s majority government withdrew Canada from the Kyoto Protocol and began aggressively pushing oil sands development.”
Photo: Alaine Hawkins, Lyn Adamson and Jennifer Dennison in the PBI Central America Project Office at 345 Adelaide Street West, Suite 606 in Toronto in December 1988.
Photo: Lyn Adamson with Peace Brigades International co-founder Hans Sinn on Parliament Hill, Ottawa.
Photo: Lyn Adamson at ClimateFast protest on Parliament Hill, September 24, 2012.
The full article can be read at Agents for Change (Naomi Buck, The Globe and Mail, April 21, 2026).
On April 16, Peace Brigades International-Canada joined with Quakers Roots and the Canadian Friends Service Committee (CFSC) for an educational webinar on the DSEI arms show in London and the CANSEC arms show in Ottawa.
The CFSC promotion for the webinar highlighted that Pete Doubtfire from Quaker Roots in Britain would “discuss successes and lessons learned during their activism against DSEI – Britain’s biggest arms fair” and that “Mel Burns from CFSC will discuss our plans for Friendly actions during CANSEC”.
Sandra Wiens, the CFSC’s Government Relations Representative who was the moderator of this webinar, recently wrote in Quaker Concern (Spring 2026 issue): “CFSC is planning to be present at CANSEC this year, May 27-28 in Ottawa. CANSEC is the largest weapons fair in North America. We believe this is a moment where being present matters. We’re planning a silent vigil/Meeting for Worship on the afternoon of the first day of CANSEC to be a physical presence of unity and nonviolence—showing that strength comes through peace. We invite you to join us that day and show your opposition to the burgeoning war industry—directly and in a Friendly way.”
