Geneva, Switzerland - Human rights organizations and legal clinics in the US and Canada this week urged the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) to investigate the two countries' arms shipments to Israel amid the ongoing atrocities in Palestine.

"Canada and the United States' untrammeled arms exports to Israel contribute to the humanitarian crisis in the [Occupied Palestinian Territories] and enable ongoing, grave violations of the [International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination] and other human rights treaties," reads a new submission to the committee calling for scrutiny of the countries' weapons exports.

The 56-page report was prepared by the Center for Constitutional Rights, the University Network for Human Rights, the Tech Justice Law Project, the Cornell Law School International Human Rights Clinic, the University of Toronto Faculty of Law's International Human Rights Program, the University of Chicago Law School's Global Human Rights Clinic, and the University of British Columbia Peter A. Allard School of Law's International Justice & Human Rights Clinic.

The filing details Israel's atrocity crimes – including the systemic killing, starvation, and forced displacement of Palestinians – and the US and Canada's role in the violence. Both countries have continued to provide Israel with weapons and military aid in spite of overwhelming evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

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"The United States and Canada bear direct responsibility for each of these violations even though they may be occurring outside of the territory," the groups argue.

"Neither country can claim ignorance of how their aid and weaponry would be used, given Israeli officials’ statements demonstrating genocidal intent as early as October 7, 2023, and certainly since being placed on notice in January 2024 by both the International Court of Justice – which recognized that claims of violations of the Genocide Convention against Palestinians in Gaza are 'plausible' – and by a US federal district court," the submission reads.

The new filing comes as the second Trump administration has proposed a plan for the US to "take over the Gaza Strip," forcibly displace the indigenous Palestinian population, and deny their right of return.

On top of that, Trump this month has moved to send an additional $8 billion in arms to Israel.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – who is wanted by the International Criminal Court – has thanked the US leader for his "full support" in Gaza.

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"The United States' threat of direct support for atrocity crimes that would constitute ethnic cleansing is irrefutable evidence that, notwithstanding the ceasefire, Palestinians living in Gaza face continued discrimination, injury, displacement, and death," the new report states.

"Outside of Israel itself, the United States bears the most responsibility for the situation in Gaza, as it provides Israel with more weaponry than any other country in the world," the organizations and legal clinics wrote.

"Additionally, the deep integration of the Canada and US defense industries into what is effectively a single North American military industry, whereby among other things Canada supplies important parts and components to US weaponry – that is then transferred to Israel – warrants examination of Canada's compliance under [the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination] as well."

In order to protect Palestinian lives, the groups are asking CERD to issue Early Warning Measures and Urgent Action Procedures against the US and Canada calling for a cessation of arms exports to Israel.