It has been 3 years since the Taliban took over Afghanistan. During this time, 2 decades of gains in democracy, human rights and education have eroded in the country and for its people. The treatment of women and girls by the Taliban is nothing short of horrifying. The egregious violations of women’s and girls’ human rights have led to restrictions on their freedom of movement and dress as well as their access to education, health services and justice, along with their ability to work. Women and girls have become prisoners in their homes and communities and have little hope for a brighter future.
The Honourable Mary Ng, Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development, today issued the following statement on the final results of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s fifth administrative review of anti-dumping and countervailing duties on certain Canadian softwood lumber products:
Today, on the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs; the Honourable Mary Ng, Minister of Export Promotion and International Trade and Economic Development; and the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of International Development, issued the following statement from the traditional, unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabe people:
Canada supports a peaceful way forward in the resolution of the ongoing crisis in Bangladesh. In this regard, we welcome the inauguration of a new interim government, led by Dr. Muhammad Yunus. This is the first step in restoring peace, to pave the way for free and fair elections and democratic governance.
Canada strongly condemns the human rights violations, deaths, torture, arbitrary arrests and lethal force used against the people of Bangladesh in recent weeks. We reiterate our deep condolences to all those impacted.
We, the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States of America and the High Representative of the EU, express our deep concern at the heightened level of tension in the Middle East, which threatens to ignite a broader conflict in the region.
Canada condemns the human rights violations, as well as the acts of violence that are occurring following the presidential elections and calls for the immediate release of the arbitrarily arrested, imprisoned or detained individuals. Citizens cannot be target of repression or reprisal for exercising their democratic rights.
Eighty years ago, on August 2, 1944, a group of around 4,000 Romani children, women and men imprisoned in the ‘Gypsy family camp’ of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and extermination camp in occupied Poland were murdered in its gas chambers.
