The Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau speaks during the interrogation period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, April 27, 2022. REUTERS / Blair Gable
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April 27 (Reuters) – Canadian lawmakers voted unanimously Wednesday to call Russia’s attacks on Ukraine “genocide”, with lawmakers saying there was “sufficient evidence of systematic and massive war crimes against humanity” committed by Moscow.
The proposal of the House of Commons of Canada says that war crimes from Russia include mass atrocities, systematic cases of premeditated murder of Ukrainian civilians, desecration of corpses, forcible transfer of Ukrainian children, torture, physical injuries, mental injuries and rape.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said it was “absolutely right” for more and more people to describe Russia’s actions in Ukraine as genocide, backing accusations made by US President Joe Biden a day earlier.
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Biden said earlier in April that the invasion of Ukraine was genocide, but added that international lawyers would have to decide whether or not the invasion met the criteria for genocide.
Russia, which denies accusations of genocide, called its actions in Ukraine a “special military operation” and said it was necessary because the United States is using Ukraine to threaten Russia. Moscow, for its part, accuses Ukraine of genocide against Russian-speaking people, an accusation that Ukraine rejects as nonsense. Read more
Canada is among a number of countries that have imposed sanctions on Russia since it invaded Ukraine on February 24. On Wednesday, it imposed additional sanctions on 203 people it claims were complicit in Russia’s attempt to annex certain areas of the Donbass region in eastern Ukraine.
Late Wednesday, Canada also updated its travel tips for Moldova, citing the risk of an armed conflict in Transnistria, a Russian-occupied part of Moldova to the west.
The Canadian government has asked travelers to exercise extreme caution in Moldova and to avoid any travel to Transnistria.
The Canadian government has also said it will change its sanctions laws to allow funds or property seized or sanctioned by Russia to be paid to help rebuild Ukraine or those affected by the Russian invasion. Read more
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Report by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Edited by Sandra Mahler and Jacqueline Wong
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