URAP welcomes Pope Francis’ statement on Indigenous Children in Canada and urges him to Speak on Uyghur Children

July 29, 2022

On Friday July 29th, Pope Francis will finish his historic visit to Canada. During his week-long trip he apologized for the Church’s role in the systematic abuse of the indigenous children in Canada’s residential schools. According to the Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Committee’s findings, a decade-long system of forceful separation and indoctrination resulted in the death of nearly 4,000 children by way of mistreatment and neglect, as well as the near-complete erasure of native’s cultures and languages.

Formally apologizing before the Indigenous leaders and the public, Pope Francis expressed his “deep sorrow” and referred to these systematic assimilationist policies as a “disastrous error”. These boarding schools, implemented by the Church and the Canadian government, still haunt the memories of survivors to this day.

URAP welcome sthis recognition with the hope for further reconciliation. As we address our country’s tragic past and work to right our historic wrongs, we must also speak up on behalf of the hundreds of thousand Uyghur and Tibetan children enduring new genocidal system in the present day China.

If history is a teacher, such egregious crimes should not be repeated anywhere at anytime. Yet, under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, countless of Uyghur and Tibetan children are currently separated from their parents. Many are forced into so-called “boarding schools”. There, they are forced to speak only in Mandarin, renounce their traditions, and reject their religion. These “schools” are tasked with one core mission: to turn non-Chinese Uyghur and Tibetan children into obedient, assimilated servants of the Communist Party of China. Children lucky enough to be released after just a few months of the detention, testify on extreme abuse, including punishment for speaking in their native tongues or manifesting any sign of “Uyghurness” or “Tibetness” which are viewed by supervisors as both “barbaric” and a menace to the existing Chinese rule.

We appreciate the moral courage required of Pope Francis in acknowledging his own Church’s dark past. As the Church takes steps toward reconciliation for its past crimes, we call upon religious leaders to use their moral powers and speak up against the modern-day Uyghur Genocide. This is happening right before our eyes. Acknowledging our own tragic past while remaining silent on the ongoing Genocide will render us a morally bankrupt. In modern-day China, people of faith, Christians included, are persecuted for their very identities. We must work to save the Uyghur and Tibetan people’s culture, religion, languages, and lives before it is too late.

For further info please contact:

Mehmet Tohti

Executive Director

Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project

613 261 8512

mehmet@urap.ca