URAP Bi-weekly Newsletter October 17-28

News:

·      Two articles were published in student newspapers, The McGill Daily and The McGill Tribune, featuring URAP’s event in partnership with the SSMU on Uyghur rights and McGill’s complicit investments in the Uyghur genocide. Miri Teich is quoted in both articles.

·      Steven Chase’s Globe and Mail article quotes Mehmet Tohti and highlights the motion M-62 debate on Uyghur refugee resettlement.

·      Steven Chase wrote another Globe and Mail article quoting Mehmet, on the House vote before the M-62 debate, to implement special immigration measures for Uyghur refugees.

·      URAP Legal Advisors, Sarah Teich and David Matas, published a joint op-ed for MLI on the importance of M-62 ahead of its first debate.

·      LawNow published an article featuring a July 2022 interview with Mehmet Tohti on MP Peter Julian’s Bill C-262, the Corporate Responsibility to Protect Human Rights Act.

 Press Releases:

• URAP published a press release on October 25 ahead of the first parliamentary debate of motion M-62.

Organization activities:

·      URAP x SSMU event at McGill University

On October 18, URAP held a full-day event at McGill University in partnership with their student union that included an MP calling and letter-writing campaign; panel discussion with MP Sameer Zuberi, Kyle Matthews of MIGS, and Dr. Susan Palmer; documentary screening of The Search for My Sister with director and Rushan Abbas Q&A; and a URAP-sponsored dinner catered by a local Uyghur restaurant.

·      Advocating for an FAAE hearing on Canada’s investments

Last week, URAP spoke with the chair of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development to request a hearing on Canada’s investments and their complicity in the Uyghur genocide through Canada Pension Plan and Canadian universities including McGill. This week, we followed up on this request by sending letters to all committee members briefing them on the matter.

·      Unanimous House vote on special immigration measures

On October 25, MP Garnett Genuis brought a report calling for special immigration measures to be implemented for Uyghur refugees “[facing] genocide” to the House, and MPs voted unanimously in favour of its adoption. The cabinet voted to abstain, although Minister Mary Ng voted in favour, reportedly by accident.

·      Motion M-62 Debate

On October 26, URAP joined MP Sameer Zuberi in Parliament for a day of advocacy before the first parliamentary M-62 debate. Mehmet Tohti participated in a press conference with MP Zuberi and URAP Policy Advisor Margaret McCuaig-Johnson in the early afternoon. Then, URAP organized for a delegation of almost 200 members of the Uyghur community to sit in on the Question Period wearing T-shirts with the message “We were all once refugees.” A smaller delegation of Uyghurs met with party leaders and other parliamentarians before the debate. After the debate, we organized a reception with the Uyghur Parliamentary Friendship Group with speeches, and the presentation of gifts from the community to supportive MPs.

·      Uyghur delegation meetings with Party Leaders and parliamentarians

On October 26, URAP along with a delegation of Uyghur activists met with Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre, Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-François Blanchet, and Leader of the House Opposition Andrew Scheer, to discuss pertinent issues including Uyghur refugee resettlement, forced labour, and Canada’s investments in the Uyghur genocide. We also had a brief exchange with NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh.

·      Meeting with Minister of International Development Harjit Sajjan

On October 27, we met with Minister Sajjan to discuss the cabinet’s abstention from the House vote on immigration measures for Uyghur refugees and the challenges that brings pushing for legislation from Liberal party MPs, including MP Zuberi’s motion. We also shared files with his office on Uyghurs in Central Asia, including a concept note requesting aid for Uyghur refugees and a report on Uyghur refugees detained in Thailand.

·      Briefing MP Rachel Bendayan on Idris Hassan

On October 28, URAP visited MP Rachel Bendayan’s office in Montreal to follow up and brief her on the file of Idris Hassan, a Uyghur refugee detained in Morrocco.

Upcoming events:

·      November 9-12: URAP will be travelling to Brussels next week for the World Uyghur Congress’s conference discussing legal and policy avenues for Uyghur advocacy from a global perspective, as well as advancing advocacy in Canada. We are bringing a delegation from URAP that includes our legal and policy advisors, and supportive Members of Parliament, to participate in global panel discussions and a Canada-specific brainstorming session.