The vote began when NDP MP and foreign critic Heather McPherson submitted a motion asking Parliament to recognize that “the Russian Federation is committing acts of genocide against the Ukrainian people.” The lawmakers agreed that there was “clear and abundant evidence of systemic and massive war crimes against humanity” committed by the Russian Armed Forces led by President Vladimir Putin and others within the Russian parliament. These crimes include, among other offenses, mass atrocities, systematic cases of deliberate killing of Ukrainian civilians, desecration of bodies, violent transfer of children from Ukraine, torture, bodily harm, mental injury and rape, the proposal said. Russia’s invasion of eastern Ukraine began on February 24. Widespread war crimes charges have since been leveled, with some leaders saying the situation is tantamount to genocide. International law defines genocide as the deliberate killing or infliction of other serious harm “with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.” Earlier this month, Prime Minister Justin Trindade said the term genocide used to describe Russia’s behavior was “absolutely correct.” His comments came a day after US President Joe Biden used the term in connection with the Ukrainian invasion. However, Trinto hastened to note that there are “formal procedures” in places for the formal application of this designation. “As President Biden pointed out, there are formal procedures for determining genocide,” Trinto said at the time. “But I think it’s absolutely right that more and more people are talking and using the word ‘genocide’ in relation to what Russia is doing.” Days later, Defense Minister Anita Anand said there was a “strong argument” that Russia’s “atrocities” amounted to genocide. “I believe that if you take the definition of genocide, which includes the intention to wipe out a nation in whole or in part, there is a strong argument, even without the use of chemical weapons, that genocide occurs,” Anand said in an interview. in CTV’s Question Period. Canadian lawmakers recently declared the treatment of Muslim Uighurs by China a genocide. However, Trinto did not take part in the vote. The then Foreign Minister Mark Garno was officially absent, while the rest of the cabinet was absent. On Wednesday, Trinto was present in the House of Commons for the question period, but it is unclear whether he was still there to vote on the proposal. Canada has signed the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which calls on Member States to prevent and punish it, and to bring legal action against perpetrators. Under these circumstances, former Justice Minister and United Nations Ambassador Alan Rock said that Canada is fulfilling its duty. “You could say we are doing everything we can to prevent this by providing weapons to Ukraine so that it can defend itself and repel the Russian attack,” Rock told CTVNews.ca. “We must contribute, as we are, to the effort to monitor the atrocities of the Russian forces, to gather evidence against them and to be ready to cooperate and participate in any persecution of those responsible.” In March, the Canadian government referred the situation in Ukraine to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate possible war crimes and crimes against humanity. “We are working with other ICC Member States to take this important action as a result of numerous allegations of serious international crimes committed by Russian forces in Ukraine, including war crimes and crimes against humanity,” said Foreign Minister Melanie. Joly. “The ICC has our full support and trust. “We call on Russia to cooperate with the tribunal.” Canada has sent 10 RCMP officers to the ICC to assist with the investigation. Rock noted, however, that the ICC operates as a backstop only if the country with the main jurisdiction – Ukraine in this case – is unable or unwilling to prosecute. “It’s the Ukrainian courts that have jurisdiction and will want to exercise jurisdiction. But we do not know what will happen in the coming months in the conflict. “Perhaps in the coming months, Ukraine’s ability to investigate and prosecute may decline.” As of now, Ukraine’s Attorney General Iryna Venediktova is working with ICC Prosecutor General Karim Khan on a joint investigation with other European representatives. With files from Rachel Aiello of CTV News __
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