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Community Groups Submit Special Report on COVID-19-related Anti-Asian Racism to the UN Special Rapporteur on Racism
The Chinese and Southeast Asian Legal Clinic (CSALC) and Chinese Canadian National Council for Social Justice (CCNC-SJ) filed a joint submission to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Racism regarding the rise of Anti-Asian racism during COVID-19 pandemic. The two community organizations urge the UN to denounce anti-Asian racism and all other forms of racial discrimination in Canada, and ask the UN to call for actions from the Governments in Canada to combat systemic racism.
The joint submission was prepared at the invitation of the Special Rapporteur, whose 2020 report to the UN General Assembly on COVID-19 is focusing on “COVID-19 related anti-Semitic incidents, as well as other forms of racism and intolerance.”
https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Racism/SRRacism/Pages/Call2020GA.aspx
“Soon after the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Canada in late-January and six weeks before the World Health Organization declared a COVID-19 a pandemic, Chinese Canadians and other Asian Canadians began to experience incidents of racism and xenophobia,” said Avvy Go, Clinic Director of CSALC. “While Prime Minister Trudeau has publicly denounced anti-Asian racism and anti-Black racism, the Canadian Government has not committed itself to taking concrete steps to root out systemic racism,” added the Legal Clinic Director.
"The rise of overt racist attacks against Asian Canadians in COVID-19 is merely a symptom of the broader systemic racism experienced by Asian and other racialized Canadians. Incorporating specific anti-Asian racism in the national Anti-Racism strategy will demonstrate the Government of Canada's commitment to effective change," Amy Go, President of CCNC-SJ. “Canada’s leadership role in international human rights requires a more solid foundation of credibility in its domestic anti-racism actions,” added the CCNC-SJ President.
In their joint submission to the UN, CSALC and CCNC-SJ list a few dozen high profile incidents of racist attacks on Asian Canadians, as well as others who “look” Chinese. The submission also highlights actions taken at the grassroots community level all across Canada to combat hate. CSALC and CCNC-SJ call on the UN to recommend to the Government of Canada to “take a stand against racism” in accordance with Canada’s obligation under the UN Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Through the UN, the two groups also call on Canada to:
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Explicitly incorporate anti-Asian racism into Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy;
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Provide dedicated funding and offer educational programs to combat anti-Asian racism during this pandemic and beyond;
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Produce and support public service announcements on television and social media to denounce scapegoating specific communities as racist and xenophobic;
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Develop an action plan to counter the spread of online hate and propaganda; and
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Ensure the collection of disaggregated data based on race, gender, language, sexual orientation, and other analogous grounds, to enable the examination of the differential impacts of racism and discrimination on racialized and other marginalized groups, in terms of health and other life opportunities and outcomes.
For the full submission, go to: https://csalc.ca/joint-submission-un-special-rapporteur-racism/
The Chinese and Southeast Asian Legal Clinic (CSALC) is a Canadian non-governmental organization mandated to provide free legal services to low-income members of the Chinese and Southeast Asian communities in Ontario. CSALC also engages in systemic advocacy to advance the rights of immigrants, racialized communities, and other disadvantaged members of society. CSALC has ECOSOC consultative status at the United Nations.
The Chinese Canadian National Council for Social Justice (CCNC-SJ) is a national non-governmental organization that educates, engages, and advocates for equity and justice for all in Canada.
(Source: Chinese and Southeast Asian Legal Clinic (CSALC) and Chinese Canadian National Council for Social Justice (CCNC-SJ) ) |
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