FORCED ORGAN HARVESTING

FORCED ORGAN HARVESTING

The Issues and Key Players

The first news of forced organ harvesting came from The Epoch Times in 2006.  The Epoch Times had also first broken the news of the SARS virus that hit Toronto.

Two Canadians, David Matas, an International Rights lawyer and David Kilgour, a former Member of Parliament in Canada, researched the issue of forced organ harvesting in China in relation to the victimization of Falun Gong prisoners of conscience.  Their research resulted in the publication “Bloody Harvest” for which they were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

The documentary film Human Harvest by Journeyman Films Inc. (2014) won the prestigious Peabody Award in the United States for their riveting film on forced organ harvesting.

There have been a number of efforts in the United States and in other countries to bring about legislation what would make it a crime to participate in forced organ harvesting but the uptake has been slow.

In 2018 and ’19, the China Tribunal held in London, England countered the claims by China that such practices as forced organ harvesting involving victims from groups like the Falun Gong, the Uyghurs, Tibetans and House Christians, were curtailed or non-existent.

In 2021, a World Summit was organized by 5 groups including:

• Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting
  A non-profit organization founded by medical doctors in 2006, nominated twice for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2016 and 2017, and honored with the Mother Teresa Award for Social Justice in 2019, DAFOH provides the medical community and society with objective findings of unethical and illegal organ harvesting while promoting and protecting ethical standards to preserve human dignity.
• CAP Freedom of Conscience
  A European NGO created in 1995 with United Nations Consultative Status, dedicated to protecting the Right of Freedom of Religion and Belief globally.
• Taiwan Association for International Care of Organ Transplants
  A Taiwan-based organization with the mission to end forced organ harvesting and bring transparency to organ transplantation so that patients, their families, and donors will correctly understand the risk and medical safety issues involved in the process.
• Korea Association for Ethical Organ Transplants
  An organization based in Korea and is an extension of the International Association for Ethical Organ Transplants (IAEOT). KAEOT works with government leaders, NGOs, and local communities to raise awareness on issues related to forced organ harvesting.
• Transplant Tourism Research Association
  A Japan-based educational organization designed to highlight unethical issues surrounding transplantation practices and promote legal action through various community-centered events. 

This World Summit resulted in the issuance of a Universal Declaration on the Preventing and Combating of Forced Organ Harvesting. You can read the whole declaration at https://universaldeclarationcpfoh.net/.  Article 5 of the Declaration states as follows:

AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL, THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION ON COMBATTING AND PREVENTING FORCED ORGAN HARVESTING EXPOUNDS THAT ALL GOVERNMENTS SHALL TAKE THE NECESSARY LEGISLATIVE AND OTHER MEASURES TO CRIMINILIZE FORCED ORGAN HARVESTING UNDER THEIR DOMESTIC LAW TO PUNISH THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS CRIME AND THAT THE JUDICIARY SHALL INITIATE AND ENSURE EFFECTIVE CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF ANY AND ALL OFFENCES.

THE ADMINISTRATIVE SYSTEMS OF ALL GOVERNMENTS SHALL BAR ENTRY TO ANY PERSON KNOWN TO BE DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY PARTICIPATING IN FORCED ORGAN HARVESTING, SHALL DISSUADE THEIR OWN MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS FROM TRAINING CHINESE DOCTORS OR MEDICAL PERSONNEL IN TRANSPLANT SURGERY, AND SHALL URGE MEDICAL JOURNALS TO REJECT PUBLICATIONS ABOUT THE “CHINESE EXPERIENCE” IN TRANSPLANT MEDICINE AND THE LIKE. MEANWHILE, EACH COUNTRY SHOULD ENHANCE THE PUBLIC’S AWARENESS OF THE UNLAWFULNESS OF FORCED ORGAN HARVESTING.

Canada responds to the Declaration with a new law-

On December 14th, 2022, the Canadian House of Commons unanimously passed into law a bill to criminalize organ trafficking. 

“Efforts to combat this practice have been ongoing in Canada’s Parliament for close to 15 years,” said Conservative MP Garnett Genuis (Sherwood Park-Fort Saskatchewan, Alta.) “The time that has elapsed underlines the sad reality of how long it takes to pass good private members’ bills even when everyone agrees.”

Bill S-223 An Act To Amend The Criminal Code would forbid any Canadian from seeking an organ transplant without “informed consent” of a donor. It passed the Senate December 9, 2021.

Senator Salma Ataullahjan (Ont.), sponsor of the bill, said organ trafficking exists though Canadian statistics are unknown. “We know that Canadians are going abroad for organ harvesting,” Ataullahjan testified November 16 at the Commons foreign affairs committee.

“In 2012 the World Health Organization claimed that an illegal organ was sold every hour,” said Ataullahjan. “Overall the number of illegal transplants worldwide is believed to be around 10,000 a year. It is important to note that this is a conservative number as many illegal organ sales remain unreported.”

Watch the Trailer here:

Canada and Forced Organ Harvesting

Senator Salma Ataullahjan and MP Garnet Genuis have been the primary leaders in the passage of Bill S223 to make forced organ harvesting a crime.  This legislation was over 10 years in the making and is a tribute to all who have been working to prevent and combat forced organ harvesting, both in Canada and around the world.

These two Canadian leaders describe the development of the Bill and International issues. 

                                

                                                 

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