Canada Condemns China’s Sanctions, Defends Canada Tibet Committee, Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project

DHARAMSALA, 26 Dec: Canada has “condemned China” and “expressed solidarity” with members of the Canada Tibet Committee and the Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project, after the Chinese government sanctioned them on Sunday for speaking out about human rights.
The government of the People’s Republic of China has arbitrarily targeted two Canadian civil society organizations and twenty human rights campaigners with sanctions. Global Affairs Canada (GAC), the Canadian government department that handles the country’s international relations and manages diplomacy, has resolutely defended the sanctioned Canadian individuals and entities.
“Global Affairs Canada expresses solidarity with the members of the Canadian Tibet Committee and the Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project and condemns the decision by the Chinese government to punish them for speaking out for human rights,” read a statement issued by the GAC on Tuesday.
The statement has further said in no uncertain terms that Ottawa “will not tolerate any threats, acts of violence or harassment against people in Canada, or against their families and friends, because of their political opinions or to silence dissenting viewpoints.”
Additionally, GAC has echoed the calls from multiple independent United Nations experts and other established multilateral mechanisms and called on “China to respond meaningfully to credible allegations of human rights violations. China must respect its obligations under international law.”
GAC, which also provides services to Canadians travelling or living abroad through embassies and consulates, has also stated that “Canada continues to urge all Canadians in China to exercise a high degree of caution in China due to the risk of arbitrary enforcement of local laws,” and that it stands ready to offer consular assistance to any Canadian nationals in China impacted by these sanctions.
Canada Tibet Committee members—Chair Samphel Lhalungpa, Vice Chair Luisa Durante, Executive Director Sherap Therchin, Board member Eliza von Baeyer, and Community Engagement Manager Youngdoung Tenzin—along with the Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project (URAP), led by Mr. Mehmet Tohti (a former WUC Director of the Legal Committee) and 14 of its staff members and experts, were sanctioned by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a “countermeasure.”