Ottawa, April 2 -- Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's reluctance to explicitly denounce forced labour in China could weaken international pressure on Beijing to halt its repression of ethnic Uyghurs, according to a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report.

Responding to remarks by Member of Parliament Michael Ma, who questioned reports of forced labour in China, Carney told the media on March 30 that Canada "takes issues of forced labour and child labour incredibly seriously." However, when directly asked whether forced labour exists in China, Carney stated only that "there are parts of China that are higher risk," as cited in the report by Human Rights Watch.

The report noted that Carney's comments overlook extensive and well-documented evid...