Canadian Parliament Set to Debate Motion on Asylum for Uyghur Refugees

On October 26, 2022, the Canadian House of Commons will debate Motion M-62, urging recognition of the dangers Uyghur Refugees and other Turkic Muslims face abroad, including coercion, detention, forced labor, and other abuses by the Chinese regime.

Oct 26, 2022

On October 26, 2022, the Canadian House of Commons is scheduled to debate Motion M-62, a private member’s motion sponsored by Liberal MP Sameer Zuberi from Pierrefonds—Dollard, Quebec. The motion calls on the government to recognize the risks faced by Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims who have fled China to third countries, where they endure pressure from the Chinese regime to return, facing potential detention, forced labor, sterilization, and other atrocities.

It urges the use of Canada’s Refugee and Humanitarian Resettlement Program to expedite asylum for 10,000 such individuals over two years starting in 2024, without impacting other refugee streams.

This builds on the unanimous February 22, 2021, parliamentary resolution recognizing China’s actions against Uyghurs as genocide. The motion has been seconded by numerous MPs across parties, including Conservatives, NDP, Bloc Québécois, and Greens.

Advocates emphasize the need for safe haven amid ongoing persecution and deportation threats in countries like Turkey.

URAP, Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project, the advocate organization for the bill said:”Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project (URAP) is extending its support for MP Sameer Zuberi and his tabled motion, M-62, which is holding its first parliamentary debate this Wednesday, October 26, 2022. This motion urgently leverages Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s Refugee and Humanitarian Resettlement Program to expedite the entry of 10,000 Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in need of protection into Canada over the next two years.”