URAP Bi-weekly Newsletter: April 1-15
URAP Bi-Weekly Newsletter April 01 – 15, 2023
News:
URAP’s team continued its advocacy and awareness-raising campaigns in the public and media spheres. Some, but not all major events in the past two weeks are highlighted as per below:
- The Global News prepared its short documentary featuring URAP’s Director Mehmet Tohti under the title “Canadians being “coerced” by China into spying on community members” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52OubkwRxvo URAP’s Mehmet Tohti was quoted "Our advocacy in Canada for the greater good of our newly adapted home comes with the heavy price” "Prominent Uyghur activist Mehmet Tohti received a similar call from Chinese authorities in January, telling him his mother and two sisters had been killed and that his uncle was in hospital”
- https://globalnews.ca/news/9598592/why-chinese-interference-everyday-problem-canadians-brainwash/
https://globalnews.ca/news/9601649/china-foreign-interference-spying/
- https://globalnews.ca/news/9598592/why-chinese-interference-everyday-problem-canadians-brainwash/
On Uyghur Forced Labor tainted merchandise entering Canada URAP continued its campaign advocating to the quick and robust adaptation and implementation of relevant bills. For instance it was reported by CTV NEWS "The Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project has called Bill S-221 "weak legislation" and argued that Canada already has tools and obligations under the Customs Act to prevent goods made through slavery from entering supply chains" https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/liberals-pledge-revamp-of-forced-labour-bill-possible-enforcement-rules-surprise-mp-1.6347542
- Again, Global News reported https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-corporate-watchdog-human-rights-complaints/ “Mehmet Tohti, executive director of the Ottawa-based Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project, who is one of the lead complainants in these cases, says the process has been hampered by “unnecessary” confidentiality rules, along with a failure so far to conduct an investigation into the issues raised.” “I am full of anger and frustration with the CORE, to be honest. As you can see, it is almost a year. And I didn’t hear anything from CORE in terms of a tangible result – it is a lot of bureaucratic processes,” he said in an interview.
URAP’s Project Coordinator Kayum Masimov was interviewed by the largest French-language media outlet of Canada, La Presse where he was quoted “Notre crainte, c’est que dans 16 ans, ça va être la même chose. Est-ce qu’on va encore devoir témoigner devant le Parlement ? Est-ce que quelqu’un va nous écouter ? » The topic of the conversation was the Chinese state-led intimidation and harasment of Uyghur activists in Canada and the need for a quick adaptation of FIRA - https://plus.lapresse.ca/screens/b3fbd24a-1e00-4fdb-9c58-7174da6baad3|_0.html?utm_content=screen&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=microsite+share
Organization Activities:
On April 3 a multifaith and multiethnic protest event took place in front of the Chinese Embassy in Ottawa. Among participants there were many Ukranian diaspora members who came to support and voice their opposition to the ongoing Uyghur Genocide.
· URAP is continuing its collaboration with multiple stakeholders on combatting the Uyghur Forced Slave Labour products entering the North American markets. Regularly, URAP meets online with the partners based in US such as Worker Rights Consortium and others.
· URAP is closely cooperates with the World Uyghur Congress and other Uyghur sister-organizations. Some screenshot from the latest events which took place in the past two weeks
URAP is a co-founder of the newly built AGVC (Alliance of Genocide Victim Communities). Its stated mission in bullet point list is Awareness raising / Advocating for coherent/consistent human rights policy in Canada / Justice and accountability / Genocide prevention / Education / Evidence collection and documentation. The newly built Alliance will hold its first Press-Conference on April 26 in the Parliament dedicated to commemorate the Genocide Remembrance Month and the public Rally in Toronto on April 29, 2023.
· URAP is continuing its campaign on M-62 implementation with the various government entities like the Immigration of Canada, the Global Affairs.
· URAP is continuing its campaign on expediate adaptation of the FIRA bill and joined several consultations with the various stakeholders among them with the office of the Public Security Minister Marco Mendicino and shared its position on FIRA. Along with Hong-Kong NGOs URAP is cooperating closely on advancing the FIRA adaptation and countering pro-CCP propaganda.
Upcoming events:
· AGVC rally in Toronto on April 29 and the joint Press-Conference in the Parliament on April 26. These events linked to the Genocide Commemoration Month (April) as adapted by the Parliament. More information to be provided and posted on www.urap.ca
· URAP will continues its close cooperation with the various government agencies in a follow-up with the M-62 Bill (the resettlement of the ten thousand Uyghur refugees and other Turkic Muslims)
· Please register for upcoming event on April 20 with the participation of the tow ex-concentration camp survivors. The Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center is hosting the fundraising event with noble aim to raise finances to bring in three Uyghur refugee families to Canada for more please consult https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/weblink.aspx?name=E350515QE&id=95
·