Canada, the U.S. and a coalition of 56 other countries have endorsed a declaration denouncing state-sponsored arbitrary detention of foreign nationals for political purposes
Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor have been detained in China for over two years. Mike Blanchfield, The Canadian Press
02/15/2021 02:31pm EST
OTTAWA Canada and a coalition of 57 other countries offered vocal support Monday for a new international declaration denouncing state-sponsored arbitrary detention of foreign nationals for political purposes.
The new declaration was born out of a year of behind-the-scenes diplomacy, spearheaded by former foreign affairs minister François-Philippe Champagne, and was the result of a campaign to free Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who spent their 798th day in Chinese prisons on Monday.
While ending Kovrig’s and Spavor’s Chinese imprisonment remains Canada’s top priority, the new declaration was meant to be a broad denunciation to also end the coercive practice in other countries, such as Russia, Iran and North Korea.
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Was happy to receive a call from my friend @JustinTrudeau. Assured him that India would do its best to facilitate supplies of COVID vaccines sought by Canada. We also agreed to continue collaborating on other important issues like Climate Change and the global economic recovery. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 10, 2021
The Canadian summary of the phone call, provided by the Prime Minister’s Office, describes it as a conversation “about India’s significant efforts in promoting vaccine production and supply.”
The official statement from India’s foreign ministry says Trudeau “informed Prime Minister Modi about Canada’s requirements of COVID-19 vaccines from India.”