The House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee has recommended the Trudeau government take decisive action against China for its genocide against Uyghurs.
In its report, the committee recommended the government recognize the ongoing genocide and work to ensure Canada is not supporting China’s oppression of minorities through trade or technology.
“The Subcommittee recommends the House of Commons adopt a motion recognizing the Government of the People’s Republic of China’s persecution of Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang as constitutive of genocide,” the report reads.
“The Subcommittee is convinced that the treatment of Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang meets the definition of genocide under the Genocide Convention. It also considers Canada’s international obligations under the convention and addresses the issue of crimes against humanity in Xinjiang.”
The committee includes members from all four major political parties.
The comittee also recommends the government use the Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act, also known as the Magnitsky Law, to issue sanctions against Chinese government officials who are deemed responsible for the Uyghur genocide.
Since 2017, China has interned over 1 million Uyghurs, or nearly 10% of the entire Uyghur population. Survivors have reported widespread physical and sexual abuse as well as forced labour.
The committee report comes as the House of Commons recently voted to recognize the treatment of Uyghurs as a genocide. The prime minister and cabinet never showed up for the vote with the exception of Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau who abstained “on behalf of the Government of Canada.”
