CANADIAN CIVIL SOCIETY GROUPS COLLECTIVELY CALL ON THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA FOR MORE ACTION TO PROTECT PALESTINIAN HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS

(Ottawa – December 1, 2021) 

The National Council of Canadian Muslims, today, joined over 80 leading civil society groups in Canada, including the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group and Amnesty International, to issue an open letter to the Government of Canada after the government’s lack of response on the designation of six Palestinian human rights organizations as ‘terrorist organizations’ by Israeli authorities last month.  

These Palestinian organizations are now effectively outlawed undermining the work of human rights defenders.  

“We are calling on the Canadian government to urgently denounce this illegal attack on groups key to the peace-building process and to the protection of human rights,” said Dr. Siham Rayale, Director of Foreign Affairs at NCCM. « That is why dozens of Canada’s leading civil society and faith-based organizations are coming together to say that Canada must be consistent when standing up for human rights. » 

The open letter comes after the public issuance of a letter calling for the government to denounce the banning of these groups from a number of parliamentarians who are part of the Canada-Palestine Parliamentary Friendship Group. 

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