MONTRÉAL, Québec (CU)_The Canadian government on Tuesday (Jan 12), introduced new measures related to human rights abuses in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Canada intends to join the United Kingdom and other international partners in adopting “a comprehensive approach” to defend the rights of the members of the Uyghur ethnic minority and other minorities within the region.
“Canada is deeply concerned regarding the mass arbitrary detention and mistreatment of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities by Chinese authorities. Nobody should face mistreatment on the basis of their religion or ethnicity,” Minister of Foreign Affairs, François-Philippe Champagne, said. “Together with the UK, we are taking action to ensure we are not complicit in the abuse of the Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang.”
The statement highlighted various forms of human rights abuses within the region, including mass arbitrary detention, repressive surveillance, torture and mistreatment and forced labour.
Therefore, the Ministry noted that Canada’s approach on the matter would involve a Xinjiang Integrity Declaration for Canadian companies, a business advisory on Xinjiang-related entities, the prohibition of imports of commodities produced wholly or in part by forced labour, export controls, enhanced advice to Canadian businesses, increasing awareness for responsible busies conduct linked to Xinjiang and a study on forced labour and supply chain risks.
Meanwhile, the United Kingdom also on Tuesday, announced a package of measures which would help British organisations ensure they are not complicit in, nor profiting from, the human rights violations in Xinjiang.
Accordingly, the British government will review which products can be exported to Xinjiang and increase support for public bodies to exclude businesses complicit in human rights violations from their supply chains. Other measures include the introduction of financial penalties for businesses that do not comply with the Modern Slavery Act, as well as a new and robust guidance for British businesses specifying risks faced by companies with links to Xinjiang.
According to the British Foreign Ministry, these measures are designed to send “a clear signal” to China that these human rights violations are unacceptable.
