urap newsletter march
URAP NEWSLETTER – March 2024
Press releases:
MARCH 28 – CORE’S RELEASE OF ITS INVESTIGATION REPORT ON THE DYNASTY GOLD CANADA
March news:
URAP Executive Director Mehmet Tohti and other Canadian civil society representatives testified before the Public Inquiry on Foreign Interference
Mehmet Tohti was among distinguished guests invited to US Embassy to host reception by Ambassador David L. Cohen and Under Secretary Uzra Yeya
CORE made an announcement on Dynasty Gold Canada, March
Media reported - The Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) has initiated the detainment of containers containing solar modules, citing the need for evidence demonstrating the absence of forced labor in the manufacturing process.
March 17, 2024 Interview with US based Uyghur blogger Kuzzat Altay in Turkish
The Commissioner of Public Inquiry Marie-Josee Hogue reviewed her original decision to grant special privileges to the three individuals who are allegedly tied to CCP as per Canadian security authorities. Upon reaching out to URAP and explaining her move to block questioning URAP by those three individuals we took decision to testify before the Inquiry (see below media compilation)
• URAP team trained young Uyghur-Canadian volunteers to provide support services to the potential applicants under the M62 campaign initiative.
• URAP continued its cooperation with the numerous stake-holders to make the M62 project feasible and swift
• URAP continued working on strengthening the Alliance of Genocide Victim Communities
• URAP is actively engaged in implementing the M62 (10 thousand refugees’ resettlement into Canada)
• URAP is cooperating with various US-based NGOs on strengthening the Uyghur Forced Labor products importation ban to Canada under the CUSMA agreements
Media compilation for March:
• 5 March National Post via “Two human rights groups, Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project (URAP) and Canadian Friends of Hong Kong (CFHK) are boycotting the Foreign Interference Public Inquiry, primarily because Commissioner Marie-Josee Hogue granted full standing to MP Han Dong and Michael Chan, and intervener status to Senator Yuen Pau Woo” https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/opinion-foreign-interference-inquiry-risks-becoming-a-foreign-interference-tool
• March 5 "In response, several pro-democracy groups have withdrawn, fearing for the safety of their members — and exposing the inquiry for what it is, a sham" https://nationalpost.com/opinion/tasha-kheiriddin-liberals-want-canadians-in-the-dark-about-china-threat
• March 13 “We think the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act is a very powerful tool in our diplomatic arsenal to hold perpetrators of forced labour to account and to really protect the integrity of our supply chain,” Ms. Zeya said via https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/toronto/article-us-urges-canada-to-work-together-to-curtail-imports-of-forced-labour/
• March 13 “some diaspora groups, such as the Uyghur Human Rights Advocacy Project and Canadian Friends of Hong Kong, who say they won’t participate because she granted party standing during the first phase to former Ontario Liberal cabinet minister Michael Chan, now deputy mayor of Markham, Ont., and independent MP Han Dong” https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-foreign-interference-inquiry-to-grant-opposition-parties-power-to/
• March 19 Globe and Mail reporting "Yet Ottawa has done little to remove Uyghur forced labour from Canadian supply chains. To date, Canada has not stopped a single shipment of goods made with Uyghur forced labour from entering the country." https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-how-canada-can-better-combat-uyghur-forced-labour/
• March 19 Policy and tech advisors of URAP in Globe and Mail “ where the line separating corporations and the government is sliver-thin, the law requires that companies provide data and access if requested, and Western personal data is hacked at staggering scale." https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-canada-needs-to-take-tiktoks-security-threats-seriously/
• March 26 Globe and Mail via “Meyerhoffer announced the probe into Dynasty last July, along with another unrelated investigation. They were the first to be launched since her office was created in 2018. The case stemmed from a complaint brought by two dozen human-rights groups, including Uyghur groups.” https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-corporate-ethics-watchdog-alleges-bc-company-allowed-forced-labour-to/
• March 27 World Uyghur Congress Uyghur TV station reported on CORE findings on DynastyGoldCorp related use of Uyghur forced labour at the Hatu gold mine https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dQ1V_HIBac
Senator Leo Housakos’s twitter on the Public Inquiry Testimony
• The Globe and Mail via “The cost for advocacy in CAN is really high for some communities. Also, there’s a lack of protection in Canada.” https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/opinion/article-the-inquiry-gets-a-personal-lesson-in-foreign-interference/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
• CBC reporting “They increased their campaign against the Conservative Party." https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/interference-inquiry-diaspora-community-1.7156749
• CBC reporting Representatives of different diaspora communities in Canada testified before a federal commission of inquiry on foreign interference. They say they've faced harassment and intimidation from their home countries on Canadian soil, affecting both them and their families abroad. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stmoI_GfVOA
• Turkish media from March 30 “Ottawa’s corporate-ethics watchdog says a Vancouver-based mining company has allowed forced labor at its gold mine in East Turkistan (Xinjiang), even though the company lost control of the project before the alleged slavery took place” https://turkistanpress.com/en/page/canadian-gold-company-accused-of-uyghur-forced-labor/1455
Some well known activists and reporters providing their feedback on the testimony provided by Mehmet Tohti at the Public Inquiry on the Foreign Interference
What can you do this week?
URAP is non-profit organization advocating on behalf of Uyghur and other Turkic-speaking people of East Turkistan currently facing the ongoing Genocide. We need broad support of public just like you to continue our advocacy and awareness-raising efforts in Canada and globally. Consider to DONATE and support our activities such as ongoing M62 campaign among other initiatives.
Upcoming Events:
URAP will continue its advocacy and awareness-raising campaign on several legislative initiatives such as addressing the elimination of the Forced Slave Uyghur Labor-tainted merchandise in the Canadian Supply Chains. FIRA (or its equivalent), The “Clean University” Initiative, resettlement M62 initiative and more…
April 17 to 19 - New York City Conference https://disruptinggenocide.com/uyghur/
May 3-5 – World Uyghur Congress Conference in Munich, Germany
May 14-16 – Copenhagen Freedom Conference, EU