House of Commons recognizes Rohingya are victims of genocide

ERIN O’Toole, Opposition critic for Foreign Affairs, and Michelle Rempel, Opposition critic for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, in a statement following a motion tabled in the House of Commons on the Rohingya genocide on Thursday, said: “Today, after pressure from Canada’s Conservatives, the House of Commons unanimously recognized the fact that the Rohingya are victims of genocide.

“Unfortunately, when it comes to foreign policy, the Trudeau government is always playing catch up. It is unfortunate that they continuously fail to do the right thing, as in the case of the resettlement of Yazidis, until they are pressured by the Opposition and the Canadian public.

“While today’s motion on the Rohingya in the House of Commons is the right first step, the government has not yet committed to meaningful action.

“A Conservative government will restore Canada’s principled foreign policy. Accordingly, we must do more than just look to the past with regret.”

They said they must take action today with resolve and committed to:

1. Formally recognize that genocide is occurring against Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslims;
2. Support the recommendations found in the Report of the Independent International Fact-finding Mission on Myanmar, and specifically act to sanction individuals through the use of our Magnitsky legislation;
3. Request that the Government of Iraq, and the United Nations if necessary, monitor and report on the progress, if any, being made regarding the return of ethnic and religious minorities to their places of origin in northern Iraq;
4. Provide support for the investigators mandated through UN Security Council Resolution 2379 to support domestic efforts to hold ISIS accountable for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide;
5. Support family reunification for resettled Yazidis in Canada by indefinitely extending the one year window of opportunity for them to include immediate family members found to be living; define family members in the same way as those claiming asylum through exemptions to the safe third country agreement; and expedite the processing of these applications to take no longer than 30 days.