MPs say 'game changer' UN report on China's Uyghur persecution should propel increased action from feds

MPs from across the political spectrum say they are hoping that the United Nation report detailing human rights abuses in China’s persecution of Uyghurs in Xinjiang will be met with an increased effort from the Liberal government to confront the mistreatment. A long-awaited report from UN Human Rights Commissioner Michelle Bachelet on the situation was released on Aug. 31, minutes before her term expired amid China’s demands that the investigation not be released. The 45-page report details the Chinese government's human rights abuses of Uyghurs and other predominately Muslim groups in the name of anti-terrorism and anti-extremism, including allegations of arbitrary detainment and detainee abuse, sexual and gender-based violence, undue online and offline surveillance, curtailed reproductive rights, and forced labour, among other elements of abuse. While some criticized the report for not going further to condemn China’s actions, MPs from all recognized parties told The Hill Times that the report should lead to increased action to target China’s persecution of Uyghurs Liberal MP Sameer Zuberi (Pierrefonds–Dollard, Que.), chair of the Subcommittee on International Human Rights, said the report is a “game changer.” “It really triggers responsibility for governments to act and to move ahead in a concrete way. This engages Canada and all of the countries that have thus far taken exception to what’s happening to the Uyghur people,” he said. Conservative MP Garnett Genuis (Sherwood Park–Fort Saskatchewan, Alta.), who sits on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, said the report will force the government to decide whether it views the situation in Xinjiang as a genocide. “The government can’t keep ducking this. They will have to answer the question at some point. It’s time for them to stop being cowardly and stand up and actually look at the evidence and respond to it in accordance to their obligations,” he said. Bloc Québécois MP Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe (Lac-Saint-Jean, Que.), his party’s human rights critic, said the government has had a “lack of courage” to label the China’s persecution as a genocide. “If you want to solve a problem, if you want to attack a problem, you have to name it. If you can’t name it, you can’t resolve it,” he said, remarking that he is hopeful that the UN report will lead to increased action from the government. NDP MP Heather McPherson (Edmonton Strathcona, Alta.), her party’s foreign affairs critic, said she is hopeful the report leads to increased government action, noting that Parliament will continue to push the Liberals on the issue. She said she plans to request a study on the UN report at the Special Committee on the Canada-China Relationship. The four MPs said they want more action to address forced labour in the supply chain, as well as help facilitate Uyghur refugees coming to Canada and additional sanctions on perpetrators. UN Human Rights Commissioner Michelle Bachelet released the long-awaited report on China's persecution of Uyghurs just minutes before her term expired. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade The UN report concludes that “serious human rights violations have occurred” and that allegations of “torture or ill-treatment, including forced medical treatment and adverse conditions of detention, are credible, as are allegations of individual incidents of sexual and gender-based violence.” The detention of Uyghurs and other predominately Muslim groups “may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity,” the report finds, but it doesn’t contain any references to genocide. The Chinese government has rejected the report, calling it “based on the disinformation and lies fabricated by anti-China forces” in a 131-page response. In a Sept. 2 statement, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly (Ahuntsic–Cartierville, Que.) called the release of the report “critical.” “The findings reflect the credible accounts of grave human rights violations taking place in Xinjiang. This report makes an important contribution to the mounting evidence of serious, systemic human rights abuses and violations occurring in Xinjiang,” she said, remarking that Canada has “repeatedly expressed its grave concern with the ongoing gross and systemic human rights violations occurring in Xinjiang affecting Uyghurs and other Muslim ethnic minorities.” Joly said Canada “urges” the Chinese government to “uphold its international human rights obligations and to respond to the concerns and the recommendations raised” in the report, adding that Canada will continue its work with allies to “address the situation in Xinjiang and to ensure the Chinese government is held to account for its actions.” The Canadian government has taken a seemingly disjointed approach to confronting human rights abuses in Xinjiang, with critics saying it is failing to live up to its commitments under the Genocide Convention. While some Liberal MPs voted with opposition parties in recognizing China’s persecution of Uyghurs as an act of genocide, the federal cabinet abstained in the vote on Feb. 22, 2021. Two days later, a Feb. 24 briefing note for the first virtual meeting between then-foreign affairs minister Marc Garneau (Notre-Dame-de-Grâce-Westmount, Que.) and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Feb. 26, included a “key message” that “too many countries are sitting on the fence as this atrocity occurs.” The briefing note, obtained by The Hill Times under the Access to Information Act, notes Canada’s push for an independent investigation. “The mounting evidence of a wholesale systematic campaign of repression in Xinjiang cannot be ignored,” the note reads. “No matter the determination if genocide or crimes against humanity, Canada agrees that action must be taken.” Nineteen months after the top Canadian and American diplomats spoke, MPs, experts, and advocates argue that little has been done. Genuis said Canada has fallen short of its legal obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, known commonly as the Genocide Convention. “The government has obligations under the Genocide Convention that are connected not just to the declaration of genocide, but evidence that a genocide is likely occurring. Those obligations are, I think, already triggered,” he said. “The government is reluctant to make this declaration, I think, has something to do with their desire not to recognize those obligations that they have—but frankly, they have those obligations in any event.” He said Canada should be enacting more comprehensive sanctions and reforms to supply chains to weed out forced labour. University of Ottawa professor John Packer, director of the Human Rights Research and Education Centre, said even without a declaration of genocide, Canada has obligations under the convention. As a party to the Genocide Convention, Canada has accepted a “positive obligation” to prevent genocide being committed anywhere by anyone, he said. “That doesn’t mean you have to get your bombers flying and go to war. It does mean that you have positive obligations to do something,” he said, remarking that would include a proactive response, which “do not facilitate the commission of genocide” such as addressing forced labour in supply chains. Packer cited the International Court of Justice case of Bosnia v. Serbia in 2007 during which the court ruled that a state’s obligation to prevent genocide and the duty to act occurs “at the instant” that a “state learns of, or should have normally learned of, the existence of a serious risk that genocide will be committed.” While the UN report lists six international laws upon which its assessment is based, it left out the Genocide Convention. International human rights lawyer Sarah Teich, a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, said she hopes the UN report gives “momentum” for the government to do more and to take concrete actions. “Because this report comes out of the UN—it has the UN stamp on it—it is powerful and does raise momentum of the issue and hopefully it causes the Government of Canada to take things more and more seriously,” she said. “There’s no excuse at this point to not take concrete actions.” Teich echoed Packer that Canada’s legal obligation under the Genocide Convention comes into play even before a genocide is taking place. “The fact that the report didn’t mention it was a genocide or the government hasn’t called it genocide, doesn’t provide any excuse for Canada not to uphold its obligations under that convention,” she said. Mehmet Tohti, executive director of the Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project, said given the “gravity of the atrocity crimes” outlined in the UN report, the Canadian government “failed miserably” to uphold its legal obligations to respond. He said the Canadian government needs to uphold its legal obligations to apply preventative measures on the Chinese government. Tohti said those would include the expansion of Magnitsky sanctions and the expansion of supply chain restrictions. Canada has placed sanctions on four officials who are suspected to be involved in the persecution of Uyghurs. The government also says that it has “engaged directly” with China “at the highest political levels” about the “human rights situation in Xinjiang.” A Senate bill to address forced labour has passed second reading in the House and has the backing of the government, which has said that it hopes to strengthen the bill through amendments. Zuberi brought forward a non-binding motion in June calling on Canada to resettle 10,000 Uyghur refugees. The motion will be debated when the House returns later this month. “We do need to step up and help resettle those who are at risk of being thrown into concentration camps and that are suffering genocide right now,” he said. McPherson said there is “so much more” that Canada could be doing to address China’s actions. “Diplomatic efforts could be made and would be made better if we had a head diplomat ,” she said, remarking that NDP MP Peter Julian (New Westminster–Burnaby, B.C.) brought forward a private member’s bill on forced labour in contrast to what she called a “significantly weaker” bill being supported by the government. She added that Canada should be working with the Uyghur community to aid in immigration. “We hear these things like ‘never again’ with regards to genocide, but it seems like ‘never again,’ except if money is on the table,” she said. Brunelle-Duceppe said the government needs to show leadership to confront China’s abuses. Like the leading role it played in opposing apartheid in South Africa, Canada should be leading the fight against China’s persecution of Uyghurs, he said. “Right now there is no leadership at all from Trudeau,” he said. “We never took any leadership on crimes against humanity since in 2015.” “We have to be on the good side of history. Right now Canada is not doing the good thing. … All the opposition parties are working in this direction—now the Liberals have to take the lead,” Brunelle-Duceppe said. nmoss@hilltimes.com The Hill Times

MPs say ‘game changer’ UN report on China’s Uyghur persecution should propel increased action from feds

The UN report found that 'serious human rights violations have occurred' and the detention of Uyghurs and other predominately Muslim groups 'may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity.'

Scant new funding on defence and foreign policy in budget

Despite global pledge to combat Islamophobia, systemic anti-Muslim hate is on the rise

Cabinet support for Uyghur resettlement motion a ‘solemn promise’ to implement plan, says sponsor

Scant new funding on defence and foreign policy in budget

Nail-biter Alberta election will test Premier Smith’s populist message, and guide Poilievre’s strategy for the next federal election: leading pollster

Public interest in AI offers ‘unique moment’ for regulatory action

Stellantis holding governments ‘to ransom’ with threat to pull out of Windsor battery plant, says environmental advocate

Johnston ‘right’ to resist public inquiry, those calling for one ‘were being naive’: former national security adviser

Budget yet to be considered for Africa framework, as concern over ‘siloed’ approach mounts

Why is Canada failing to act on its responsibility to protect Uyghurs?

Politics This Morning: House committee begins probe into McKinsey contracts

MPs continue push to confront China’s Uyghur persecution as pressure builds for feds to apply genocide label

Feds under fire for deferring decision to declare China’s actions against Uyghurs as genocide

Diplomatic boycott of Beijing Olympics an ‘intriguing’ solution that follows a different course from past controversial Games

News

Get free news updates

Opinion

Submit a guest opinion article

resources

Advertise

subscribe

get help

MPs say ‘game changer’ UN report on China’s Uyghur persecution should propel increased action from feds

The UN report found that 'serious human rights violations have occurred' and the detention of Uyghurs and other predominately Muslim groups 'may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity.'

Get The Foreign Policy and Diplomacy Newsletter