September 18, 2023
For Immediate Release

Markham, Canada – – Tamil Rights Group (TRG) welcomes the report co-authored by our Legal Advisors David Matas and Sarah Teich and co-author of our ICC Article 15 submission, Hannah Taylor.

The report: Combatting Transnational Repression and Foreign Interference in Canada details how authoritarian regimes do not stop at committing human rights violations in their home countries; many of them reach beyond their borders and continue to oppress diaspora communities. Many also engage in attacks against institutions.

Following their review of the relevant literature and interviews with witnesses and victims, they find that acts of transnational repression in Canada and/or against Canadians comprise of direct attacks, long distance threats, mobility controls, and coopting other countries. Further they state that there are reported incidents relating to interference with government institutions, media, academia, and the business sector. 

The report outlines Canada’s legal obligation to protect its people, and the legal frameworks and mechanisms available to Canada at the international and domestic levels to combat incidents of transnational repression and foreign interference. Following an in-depth review of the problem, and of the relevant legal frameworks and mechanisms, they propose thirty-seven (37) recommendations for the Government of Canada to combat foreign interference and transnational repression.

These recommendations were developed in collaboration with, and with the endorsement of, many of Canada’s leading diaspora community organizations, including those representing Uyghurs, Tibetans, Tamils, Tigrayans, Cubans, Turkish people, Eritreans, and victims of genocide.

“As victims of genocide perpetrated by the Sri Lankan state, Canadian Tamils are all too familiar with the tactics that repressive regimes pursue at home and abroad. We continue to deal with those tactics even though the armed conflict ended in 2009. This is why we fully endorse the report and the recommendations it provides for the Government of Canada.”

– Navaratnam Srinarayanathas, President, Tamil Rights Group

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