UCC Commemorates Genocide Remembrance Month
OTTAWA, April 10, 2019. In recognition of Genocide Remembrance, Condemnation, and Prevention Month, the Ukrainian Canadian Congress is once again part of a coalition of civil society organizations joining together to solemnly commemorate and condemn acts of genocide and recommit to working together to prevent genocide. Events are scheduled to take place in Ottawa during the month of April and will be complemented by a national social media campaign It Starts With Words.
In addition to commemorating Genocide Remembrance Month, the coalition partners are tabling three policy proposals to the Government of Canada, including an ask for a national strategy to combat online hate, online propaganda, and dissemination of hateful misinformation.
“By commemorating Genocide Awareness Month we as Canadians – Armenian, Jewish, Roma, Rwandan, Ukrainian, and Yezidi citizens of this country – honour the memory of innocent people who lost their lives to genocide. It is our collective duty to stand up against injustice, hate, and bigotry around the world.” said Ihor Michalchyshyn, UCC CEO
Background
- In 2015, with support from all major parties, the House of Commons unanimously passed M-587 designating April as Genocide Remembrance, Condemnation and Prevention Month.
- The motion commemorates genocides currently recognized by Canada: the Holocaust, the Ukrainian Holodomor, the Genocide of Tutsis in Rwanda, and the Armenian Genocide of 1915. Parliament has also recognized the Bosnian Genocide and the ongoing genocide of the Yezidi people of Syria and Iraq.
About the Coalition Partners
- The Armenian National Committee of Canada is the largest and most influential Armenian-Canadian grassroots human rights organization
- Project Abraham is a frontline support agency for the GTA Yezidi survivors of ISIS
- Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs is the advocacy agent of Jewish Federations of Canada
- Romanipe is a non-profit organization whose mission is to defend the dignity and human rights of Romani peoples worldwide
- The Rwandan Humura Association was created to ensure the genocide perpetrated against the Batutsi Rwandan is never forgotten
- The Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) is the voice of Canada’s Ukrainian community (1.4 million), bringing together national, provincial and local Ukrainian Canadian organizations
- The mission of the Yezidi Human Rights Organization is to defend and protect human rights and to educate people about the Yezidi Genocide
