Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project Urges the Government of Canada to Put Human Rights First During Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s Visit to Ottawa
Ottawa, Canada
As the People’s Republic of China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrives in Ottawa for high-level meetings with Canadian officials, Uyghur human rights advocates are calling on the Government of Canada to confront China’s ongoing human rights abuses and reject any diplomatic reset that ignores accountability.
The visit, the first by a Chinese foreign minister to Canada in nearly a decade, comes amid renewed efforts to deepen bilateral cooperation through trade and strategic agreements between Canada and the People’s Republic of China.
Advocates warn that Canada risks undermining its own human rights commitments by advancing memoranda of understanding and broader strategic partnership agreements with Beijing while genocide and transnational repression against Uyghurs continue, particularly as concerns have been raised about undisclosed Canada–China law enforcement cooperation agreements and RCMP memoranda of understanding involving information sharing, investigative assistance, and coordination with Chinese public security authorities, which critics say lack transparency and parliamentary scrutiny and may expose vulnerable communities to further risk.
“We cannot normalize relations with the Chinese government while Uyghurs remain imprisoned, families are separated, and survivors of repression continue to seek justice,” said URAP’s Executive Director, Mr. Mehmet Tohti. “Economic cooperation must never come at the expense of human rights.”
URAP is also urging renewed attention to the case of Canadian citizen Huseyin Celil, a Uyghur-Canadian who has remained imprisoned in China since 2006 after being detained during a visit to Uzbekistan and transferred to Chinese custody. His family and supporters have long criticized the Chinese government’s refusal to recognize his Canadian citizenship or provide meaningful consular access.
“The continued imprisonment of Huseyin Celil is a painful reminder that Canadian citizens are not protected when the government prioritizes diplomatic convenience over human rights,” said Mr. Mehmet Tohti.
Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project is urging Prime Minister Mark Carney and Foreign Minister Anita Anand to publicly raise the mass detention and surveillance of Uyghurs in East Turkistan, ongoing forced labour and supply-chain abuses, and the growing pattern of transnational repression targeting Uyghur activists and human rights defenders in Canada.
Ongoing forced labour practices continue to implicate global supply chains and raise concerns about the importation of goods linked to coercive labour systems. URAP is still pending a response to its letter sent to the Prime Minister’s Office on forced labour.
Furthermore, URAP has also expressed concern over expanded visa-free travel arrangements with China, arguing that closer mobility and diplomatic normalization should not proceed while Beijing continues to persecute Uyghurs, silence dissidents, and intimidate diaspora communities abroad. Greater openness with China could increase opportunities for transnational repression, including surveillance, coercion, and intimidation of activists and community members living in Canada and other democratic countries, and therefore should be approached with strong safeguards and clear human rights conditions.
Canada’s Parliament recognized China’s treatment of Uyghurs as genocide in 2021 with support from members across party lines, and advocates also point to Parliament’s commitment under Motion M-62, passed in 2023, calling for the resettlement of 10,000 Uyghur refugees to Canada, urging the government to fully implement this pledge as part of a credible human rights response.
In response to Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit, a successful solidarity protest was also held on Parliament Hill at the Centennial Flame on May 28th, 2026, bringing together Uyghur, Hong Kong, Tibetan, and broader human rights advocates in a public demonstration calling for accountability and democratic values in Canada’s foreign policy. Falun Gong practitioners also held a separate accompanying protest nearby in solidarity, highlighting concerns over religious freedom and human rights abuses. Falun Gong practitioners also held a separate accompanying protest nearby in solidarity, highlighting concerns over religious freedom and human rights abuses.
The event featured speakers including Member of Parliament Jenny Kwan, Sinopsis Senior Fellow Charles Burton, President of Optimum Publishing International Dean Baxendale, Executive Director of the Canadian Tibet Committee Sherap Therchin, and China Strategic Risks Institute, Senior Fellow in the Institute for Science, Society and Policy at the University of Ottawa Margaret McCuaig-Johnston, who each addressed issues including human rights, transnational repression, and Canada’s values and responsibility to uphold democratic principles in its foreign policy.
Media Contact
Mehmet Tohti
Executive Director
Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project
secure@urap.ca
(613)261-8512