Statement by Minister of Foreign Affairs on International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime

December 10, 2018 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada

The Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today issued the following statement:

“After the horrors of the Second World War, the nations of the world came together to adopt the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, to end impunity for those complicit in genocide.

“It is with solemn regret that we acknowledge that genocide continues, even to this day. In fact, earlier this fall, Canada’s Parliament voted on the motion to recognize that the crimes committed against the Rohingya in Myanmar constitute genocide. 

“The troubling rise of anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and other forms of racism and xenophobia act as fuel for those who seek to commit crimes against humanity. Holding perpetrators responsible, and seeing that they are brought to justice, is crucial to ensuring that such atrocities do not occur again in the future.

“Genocide has no place in our world. No one should fear discrimination, persecution or violence because of who they are. Canada will always continue to strive for a world in which all human beings are equal in dignity and rights.”

Quick facts:

• Canada recognizes the Holocaust, the Rwandan genocide, the Ukrainian Holodomor, the Armenian genocide, the Srebrenica massacre, the Romani genocide and the Yazidi genocide.
• This year marks the 70th Anniversary of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
• The Genocide Convention was the first human rights treaty adopted by the United Nations, on December 9, 1948.