Canada Monitoring Detention Of Indigenous Youth Following COP25 Protest - Foreign Minister

TORONTO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 12th December, 2019) The Canadian government is aware of the detention of Indigenous youth at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP25) in Madrid and is actively engaged with local authorities on the issue, Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said in a statement.

"We are aware of this incident. Canada has a strong and diverse delegation in Madrid, led by my colleague [Minister of Environment and Climate Change Jonathan Wilkinson]. We have raised this issue with the UNFCCC Secretariat and our Embassy in Madrid is actively engaged," Canada's top diplomat said on Wednesday.

Earlier, Perry Bellegarde, National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations released a statement, in which he said that a group of Indigenous youth, including many Canadian citizens, were detained in Madrid while protesting at the COP25.

In the statement, the National Chief strongly condemned this "undemocratic abuse of power."

COP25 began on last Monday in the Spanish capital of Madrid and will run through December 13. The conference was initially set to take place in Chile, but due to large-scale anti-government protests in the country, President Sebastian Pinera was forced to cancel. Spain then picked up the hosting duties, with Chile remaining as the event's chair.