The Canadian parliament has passed a non-binding resolution recently to declare China’s treatment of its Uyghur citizens a “genocide.”
The resolution mounts pressure on the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to officially issue genocide declaration. Trudeau has ignored calls to do so and he toldreporters recently that he wanted to make sure “all the i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed.”
China has interned no fewer than one million Uyghur and other Muslim citizens in “reeducation camps” located in the Xinjiang region.
There have been reports of mass rape and compelled sterilization of Uyghur women over one year, and the United States made move to declare the actions of China as genocide during the final days of Donald Trump’s administration.
The parliament of Canada voted 266-0 to declare a genocide, with the cabinet of Trudeau abstaining from voting.
Canada is currently stuck in a standoff with China over the detention of two Canadian citizens, Michael Kovrig andMichael Spavor, the government of China. The two Canadians were arrested ten days after Meng Wanzhou, Chief Financial Officer of Huawei, who is wanted in the United States, was detained in Canada.
Trudeau said: “The international community in general…takes very, very seriously the label of genocide and needs to ensure that when it is used, it is clearly and properly justified.”
China has however denied it is committing a genocide.
While talking to Reuters, Chinese Ambassador to Canada, Cong Peiwu said: “Western countries are in no position to say what the human rights situation in China looks like. There is no so-called genocide in Xinjiang at all.”
