Madam President,

Genocide is a universally acknowledged severe international crime, which brought miserable disaster to human beings in history, and the devastating impacts of genocide is still felt today. In the United States, native American Indians were expelled from their land and slaughtered during the so-called Westward Expansion in nearly 100 years after the country was founded. Their population dwindled from 5 million at the end of the 15th century to 250,000 at the beginning of the 20th century. Today, American Indians are living in isolated and desolated Reservations in the United States. In Canada, over 150,000 indigenous children were forcibly sent to residential schools for assimilation, and at least 3,200 were abused to death. This is only the tip of the iceberg in the number of indigenous people who died of genocide in Canada. Other western countries also committed severe crimes of genocide and crimes against humanity in colonizing and invading other countries.

The international community has the responsibility to carry out comprehensive, impartial and in-depth investigations into all crimes of genocide, hold perpetrators accountable, prevent impunity and eradicate racism, racial discrimination and other legacies of genocide. China hopes the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide will play her due role in this regard.

Thank you, Madam President.