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431-00117 (Foreign affairs)

Paper petition

Original language of petition: English

Petition to the Government of Canada

We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Canada, draw the attention of the House of Commons to the following:

That, whereas:

  • Numerous credible reports indicate that more than 1 million Uyghurs are being held in Nazistyle concentration camps in Xinjiang by the Chinese government and are being subjected to psychological and physical torture.
  • Families are being torn apart and children are being confined in orphanages where they are subjected to psychological abuse and political indoctrination.
  • The conditions which the Uyghurs have had to endure amount to genocide as defined by Article 2 of the United Nations Genocide Convention.

Therefore, we the undersigned, citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to (1) partner with the 5 Eyes countries to demand the closure of the modern-day concentrations camps holding more than 1 million Uyghur people and for all children to be reunited with their parents, (2) address the genocide and Crimes Against Humanity against the Uyghur people, and forced organ harvesting of prisoners of conscience in China, at the UN Security Council, (3) invoke the Magnitsky Act and hold the perpetrators of violence responsible for the crimes being committed, (4) protect the safety and security of Canadian citizens of Uyghur origin and advocate on their behalf for the release of their family members being held as hostages in concentration camps by the Chinese government and (5) Pass Bill S-204 which criminalizes organ trafficking and amends the Criminal Code, making it a punishable offense for Canadians to partake in transplant tourism.

Response by the Minister of Foreign Affairs

Signed by (Minister or Parliamentary Secretary): The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne

The promotion and protection of human rights is an integral part of Canadian foreign policy and will continue to play a fundamental role in the Government of Canada’s engagement with China. The Government is concerned by the violations of the rights of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang by Chinese authorities, which include mass arbitrary detentions, repressive surveillance, mass arbitrary separation of children from their parents, as well as allegations of torture, mistreatment, and forced labour. The actions by the Chinese government are contrary to its own constitution, in violation of international human rights obligations and inconsistent with the United Nations’ Global Counter Terrorism Strategy.

Canada regularly calls on China to respect, protect and promote freedom of expression, assembly and association, as well as freedom of religion or belief for all Chinese citizens. Canada has done so on numerous occasions, publicly and privately, in multilateral forums as well as in bilateral dialogues, including during Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s visit to Canada in 2016; Prime Minister of Canada’s high level visits to China in 2016 and 2017; the Governor General’s visit to China in 2017; the visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs to China in 2017; the discussion with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the margins of the UN General Assembly in September 2018; and the Prime Minister’s discussion with Premier Li at their Annual Leaders’ Dialogue in Singapore in November 2018. At the G20 Foreign Minister’s meeting in Japan in November 2019, the Minister of Foreign Affairs raised the human rights situation in China directly with his Chinese counterpart during a bilateral meeting.

Canada has made several statements on the human rights situation in China at the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva, including specific statements regarding Uyghurs in Xinjiang (March 2018, September 2018, March 2019). Canada also made public recommendations to China on human rights as part of China’s Universal Periodic Review at the HRC in November 2018. Canada called on China to release Uyghurs and other Muslims who have been detained arbitrarily and without due process because of their ethnicity or religions, and to end the prosecution and persecution on the basis of religion or belief. 

In July 2019, during the 41st session of the HRC, Canada co-signed a letter addressed to the President of the UN Human Rights Council in which representatives from over 20 countries raised concerns over the situation of Uyghurs and other minorities in Xinjiang.

Canada also co-sponsored side events addressing human rights in Xinjiang on the margins of the HRC’s 40th session in Geneva (March 2019) and the margins of the UN General Assembly 74th session in New York (September 2019). Canada co-signed, along with 22 other countries, a joint statement on the human rights situation in Xinjiang during the Third Committee dialogue of the Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in New York in October 2019. As part of joint communications, Canadian and other countries have called on China to allow unfettered access to Xinjiang to the UN and the Office of the High Commission for Human Rights.

Canada has co-signed statements at the U.S.-led Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom in Washington in July 2018 and 2019. Both statements raised concerns that many members of religious minority groups in China face severe repression and discrimination because of their beliefs, including ethnic Uyghurs. In a public statement on International Religious Freedom Day on October 27, 2018, the Minister of Foreign Affairs condemned acts of religious intolerance, including against Uyghurs and members of other religious minority groups in China.

The Government of Canada is actively engaged with other states, including China, to advocate and advance the implementation of the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children to prevent and combat trafficking in persons, including for the purposes of organ removal. Canada actively participated in the development of the revised World Health Organization’s Guiding Principles on Human Organ and Tissue Transplantation, which Member States, including China, adopted in 2010. The Government of Canada also recognized the need to enhance the safety of transplantation procedures in Canada and has implemented a regulatory framework that maximizes the safety of cells, tissues and organs intended for transplantation (2007-2008).

Be assured that the promotion and protection of human rights are core priorities of Canada’s foreign policy. The Government of Canada will continue to underscore our commitment to peace and inclusion, at home and abroad, for all religious and belief communities. The Government of Canada will continue to raise its concerns regarding the human rights situation in Xinjiang and all of China, and will continue to call on China to live up to its international obligations.

Presented to the House of Commons
Gagan Sikand (Mississauga—Streetsville)
February 26, 2020 (Petition No. 431-00117)
Government response tabled
April 11, 2020
Photo - Gagan Sikand
Mississauga—Streetsville
Liberal Caucus
Ontario

Only validated signatures are counted towards the total number of signatures.