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Event

House of Commons motions on Xinjiang, 2021

A motion in the House of Commons of Canada (22 February 2021, 266 to 0) and a non-binding motion in the UK House of Commons (22 April 2021), each from one chamber and neither a ruling by a court or a decision of the government.

5 links, 2 backed by primary records

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Dates
22 Feb 2021 – 22 Apr 2021

Connections 5

interventions

involved

  • House of Commons of Canada voted 266 to 0 on 22 February 2021 for an opposition motion that recognized a genocide and asked the government to adopt that position Primary record 13
  • House of Commons of the United Kingdom approved a non-binding motion on 22 April 2021; the motion's own wording was not read for this story Scholarship & press 24
  • Xinjiang subject of both motions Scholarship & press 2
Timeline 3 dates
  1. 22 Feb 2021 – 22 Apr 2021 House of Commons motions on Xinjiang, 2021
  2. 22 Feb 2021 House of Commons of Canada intervened in House of Commons motions on Xinjiang, 2021
  3. 22 Apr 2021 House of Commons of the United Kingdom intervened in House of Commons motions on Xinjiang, 2021
Proof 4 sources
  1. Vote No. 56: Opposition Motion (Religious minorities in China), 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session, House of Commons of Canada, 22 Feb 2021. Primary record
    Agreed To Yea: 266 Nay: 0
    call on the government to officially adopt this position
    the House, therefore, recognize that a genocide is currently being carried out by the People's Republic of China against Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims
  2. British Parliament Passes Resolution Declaring Genocide In China, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 22 Apr 2021. Scholarship & press
    The nonbinding declaration passed on April 22 does not compel the U.K. government to act
    The nonbinding declaration passed on April 22 does not compel the U.K. government to act, but is a sign of the growing outcry among lawmakers toward the Chinese government.
    The government says any decision on declaring a genocide is up to national and international courts.
    The British House of Commons has approved a parliamentary motion declaring that crimes against humanity and genocide are being committed against Uyghurs and other mostly Muslim ethnic minorities in China’s northwest Xinjiang Province.
  3. MPs vote to label China's persecution of Uighurs a genocide, CBC News, 22 Feb 2021. Scholarship & press
    Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and almost all of his cabinet colleagues were absent for the vote.
    When it was his turn, he said he abstained "on behalf of the Government of Canada."
  4. Uighur muslims in China 'suffering crimes against humanity and genocide', UK parliament declares, ITV News, 22 Apr 2021. Scholarship & press Archived copy
    The House of Commons on Thursday approved a motion calling on the government to act to fulfil its obligations under international human rights law.
    While the move will likely have no real impact on UK government policy, it is sure to damage relations between London and Beijing.
    Even though the Government maintains that only a court can determine genocide, Parliament has chosen to disregard that and vote itself.
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