Mr. Speaker, finally, following an event that I had the honour of speaking at earlier this week here in Ottawa, I am tabling a petition drawing attention to the horrific human rights situation in North Korea, highlighting the human rights record of the Government of North Korea and calling for action.
The petitioners note that North Korea prioritizes food distribution to those considered useful to the survival of the current political regime, and this leads to extreme starvation in so many cases. There is a vast state apparatus that is associated with the suppression of dissent, public executions, forced imprisonment of citizens in political prison camps and the terrorization of the population. State-sponsored abductions of citizens of other nations also occur.
The petitioners are also highlighting concerns about how defectors from North Korea who have gone to the People's Republic of China have been sent back. They are calling for action in response to this. The petitioners are raising concerns about how the Government of China deals with the situation of North Korean defectors.
The petitioners call on the government—