Overseas Protection and Resettlement

Complementary Pathways

Resolution number
1
Whereas
  1. The Global Compact on Refugees (GCR), which was affirmed by the United Nations General Assembly in December 2018, recognizes the expansion of resettlement and complementary pathways as one of the four objectives of the GCR;
  2. In that regard, UNHCR has developed a three-year Strategy (2019 – 2021) on resettlement and complementary pathways with the goal of increasing the number of resettlement spaces envisaged by the GCR;
  3. This Strategy envisions the admission by 2028 of 2 million refugees through complementary pathways, which are defined as safe and regulated avenues for refugees that complement resettlement by providing lawful stay in a third country where their international protection needs are met;
  4. The CCR welcomes the expansion of third country solutions through complementary pathways to address the huge gap in securing adequate resettlement spaces for the refugees globally;
Therefore be it resolved

that the CCR call for the following principles to be respected in the development of complementary pathways:

  1. Complementary pathways must offer a durable solution to refugees.  
  2. Complementary pathways must aim to keep families together and respect the fundamental right to family reunification.
  3. The development of complementary pathways must not lead to a decrease in commitment to traditional resettlement.
  4. The development of complementary pathways must include meaningful refugee participation and leadership.
  5. Effort should be made to ensure complementary pathways are broadly available to diverse refugee populations.
  6. Complementary pathways should offer the same level of integration support as traditional refugee pathways offer.
Working Group
Overseas Protection and Resettlement
Subject
Resettlement policy

Root causes of forced displacement

Resolution number
1
Whereas
  1. Eliminating root causes has been recognized by the Global Compact on Refugees as the most effective way to achieve solutions through resolving protracted refugee situations and preventing new crises from emerging;
  2. Canada is implicated in some root causes of forced displacement in many countries in the world;
Therefore be it resolved

that the CCR should, in a systemic manner, incorporate consideration of root causes into its work.

Working Group
Overseas Protection and Resettlement

Women at Risk

Resolution number
11
Whereas
  1. Some refugee women in need of resettlement fit the special criteria of the Women at Risk Programme (in general women in urgent need of resettlement (Stream A) or women who require longer term settlement assistance (Stream B));
  2. The CCR has called for the expeditious processing of Stream A cases;
  3. The CCR has affirmed the use of the Joint Assistance Initiative (formerly Joint Assistance Programme) for Stream B cases;
  4. Citizenship and Immigration officials have indicated that refugee women fitting the Stream A of the Women at Risk Programme have been processed as government-assisted refugees (CR1) because CR1 refugees can be processed more quickly than Women at Risk cases;
  5. When Stream A Women at Risk cases are processed as CR1s they are not counted in Women at Risk Programme statistics;
  6. Citizenship and Immigration Canada has not followed up on its review of the Women at Risk Programme nor responded to the recommendations adopted by the CCR in November 1994;
Therefore be it resolved

that the CCR:

  1. Express to Citizenship and Immigration Canada its deep disappointment at the lack of attention to reform of the Women at Risk programme.
  2. Call on the Department to:

            a) Distinguish in its Women at Risk statistics between Stream A and Stream B cases;

            b) Continue to process expeditiously women with urgent protection needs through CR1 channels, but categorize them as Women at Risk Stream A for the purpose of statistics, where they meet the Women at Risk definition;

            c) Continue to process Women at Risk Stream B cases as a subset of the Joint Assistance Initiative, categorized for statistical purposes as Women at Risk Stream B;

  1. Reaffirm its former Women at Risk resolutions, with a particular emphasis on the call to negotiate the use of Reception Centres for the initial reception and (for CR5) matching of Women at Risk.
Working Group
Overseas Protection and Resettlement
Subject
Gender
Resettlement policy

Resettlement Consultations

Resolution number
10
Whereas
  1. Consultations on resettlement policy and practices have been launched by the UNHCR;
  2. EXCOM Conclusion 19(p) of October 1995 states "The Executive Committee reiterates the continued importance of resettlement as an instrument of protection and its use as a durable solution to refugee problems in specific circumstances; welcomes the initiative in commissioning an evaluation study and the UNHCR consultation on resettlement; and encourages UNHCR to continue the process of dialogue with interested Governments and non-governmental organizations to strengthen its activities in this connection, and to provide regular reports to the Executive Committee";
Therefore be it resolved

that the CCR:

  1. Endorse EXCOM Conclusion 19(p);
  2. Invite American NGOs involved in resettlement and the UNHCR for a regional meeting to prepare for the upcoming international tripartite (NGO, government, UNHCR) resettlement consultation to be held in Geneva;
  3. Seek government support to enable Canadian NGO participation at this tripartite consultation.
Working Group
Overseas Protection and Resettlement
Subject
Resettlement policy

Refugee children

Resolution number
20
Whereas
  1. 85% percent of the world refugee population are women and children and the number of refugee children exceeds 10 million;
  2. Refugee children are the most vulnerable sector of refugees all over the globe;
  3. Refugee girls are persecuted for their gender and refugee children bear responsibilities for childcare and for parenting of younger children;
  4. Refugee children suffer regular violations in camps which rarely gain attention and condemnation in the media, including hard physical labour, malnutrition, epidemics, rape and are deprived of adequate schooling and education opportunities;
  5. Unaccompanied children and minors suffer detention in many countries;
  6. The defense and protection of refugee children has not received adequate attention in educational material and international legal conventions;
Therefore be it resolved

That the CCR take action with the Canadian government and relevant international organizations to:

  1. Call for an international legal instrument for the protection of refugee children as a supplement to the Geneva Convention and Protocols;
  2. Call for an increase in relief aid and educational resources to refugee children, especially those in camp situations;
  3. Increase the numbers of unaccompanied minors resettled in western countries, after suitable efforts at family reunification have been exhausted;
  4. Demand an end to the detention of refugee children and call for the use of other more humane mechanisms to accommodate these children;
  5. Call for measures to eradicate prostitution, rape, female genital mutilation and other abuses in refugee camps, and for resources to be made available to assist in the healing of children victimized by these abuses;
  6. Call for humane measures concerning international adoptions of refugee children.
Working Group
Overseas Protection and Resettlement

World population conference

Resolution number
19
Whereas
  1. The Canadian government is participating in UN discussions preparing a conference document for the International Conference on Population and Development to take place in Cairo, Summer 1994;
  2. Non-governmental discussions tend to focus on family planning and the environment, although a significant part of the conference business involves migration and refugee affairs;
  3. The document so far reflects a shift from the promise of safeguards for the rights and dignity of refugees and migrants expressed in the 1994 Mexico Declaration to a bald assertion of an absolute right of states to control the entry and residence of persons onto their territory;
  4. The need to uphold the right of asylum was declared by all governments at the Vienna Conference on Human Rights in June 1993 and was declared by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to her Executive Committee in October 1993;
Therefore be it resolved
That the CCR and its members urge MPs and Canadian government officials to work to ensure that the Conference documents fully reinforce the right to asylum and reinforce the need for safeguards for the rights of refugees and migrants at borders and elsewhere on state territory.
Working Group
Overseas Protection and Resettlement

Call to ban anti-personnel land mines

Resolution number
18
Whereas
  1. Anti-personnel land mines that detonate on contact are indiscriminate weapons that remain hidden and lethal long after the end of a conflict;
  2. Anti-personnel mines have killed or mutilated tens of thousands of civilians and rendered large tracts of agricultural and pastoral land unusable, preventing the subsistence and economic development of rural populations;
  3. In most countries women and children are especially affected as direct victims through their agricultural and pastoral work or through death and disabling of their husbands and fathers;
  4. The 1981 United Nations Protocol on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Mines, Booby traps and other Devices has failed to prevent the indiscriminate use of anti-personnel mines but unfortunately international law permits the use of land mines to achieve "defensive" military objectives;
  5. The CCR adopted Resolution 14 at the Consultation in Winnipeg in November 1992 calling for Canada to ratify the Land Mines Protocol and to press other states of the United Nations to do likewise;
  6. Land mines remain an obstacle to the durable solution of voluntary repatriation for refugees;
Therefore be it resolved

That:

  1. The CCR join a growing number of organizations including Handicap International, Human Rights Watch, Medico International, Mines Advisory Group, Physicians for Human Rights and the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation in a joint call for:
    1. An international ban on the use, production, stockpiling, and sale, transfer or export of antipersonnel mines;
    2. The establishment of an international fund, administered by the United Nations, to promote and finance landmine awareness, clearance and eradication programs worldwide;
    3. Countries responsible for the production and dissemination of anti-personnel mines to contribute to the international fund;
  2. The CCR call on the government of Canada to support and promote an international ban on the use, production, stockpiling, and sale, transfer or export of antipersonnel mines;
  3. The CCR urge the government of Canada to support and promote the establishment of an international fund, administered by the United Nations, to promote and finance landmine awareness, clearance and eradication programs worldwide;
  4. The CCR call on the government of Canada to urge countries responsible for the production and dissemination of anti-personnel mines to contribute to the international fund.
Working Group
Overseas Protection and Resettlement

Joint sponsorship committee

Resolution number
17
Whereas
  1. The Canadian Council for Refugees has acted as a convenor of master agreement holders and sponsoring groups throughout the government's private sponsorship review;
  2. There is a widely recognized need for improved communication between private sponsoring organizations and the government;
  3. Organizations which sponsor refugees have a genuine and vested interest in the smooth running and success of the private sponsorship program;
Therefore be it resolved
  1. The CCR write to the government urging the creation of a joint committee consisting of both government and non-governmental organizations involved in the private sponsorship program;
  2. The CCR coordinate the selection of the non-governmental representatives on the committee from among all Master Agreement Holders and organizations involved in the private sponsorship program;
  3. Such a joint committee be mandated to plan the direction of the program;
  4. Such a joint committee not act as a replacement for ongoing direct communication with organizations participating in the program.
Working Group
Overseas Protection and Resettlement

Guidelines on gender persecution for visa posts

Resolution number
16
Whereas
  1. IRB Guidelines on women refugee claimants fearing gender-related persecution were issued in March 1993 by the chairperson pursuant to section 65(3) of the Immigration Act;
  2. IRB members are expected to use the Guidelines in applying the Convention refugee definition to ensure that women who fear gender persecution can be found to be refugees;
  3. The IRB Guidelines were distributed to all overseas visa posts as information;
Therefore be it resolved

That the CCR encourage:

  1. The adoption of these Guidelines in visa posts for use in overseas refugee selection;
  2. The department of Citizenship and Immigration to monitor the implementation of the Guidelines for overseas selection;
  3. The inclusion of the Guidelines in the training of visa officers to facilitate greater understanding of gender persecution.
Working Group
Overseas Protection and Resettlement

Reorganization of visa posts

Resolution number
15
Whereas
  1. The government has announced that it will no longer offer full immigrant processing at all visa posts and will centralize immigrant processing worldwide;
  2. There is already a limited number of visa posts with full immigration consulars;
  3. This creates hardships particularly in affected countries and more particularly creates hardships for women who are restricted financially and socially from accessing these posts;
Therefore be it resolved
That the CCR contact government officials to express its concern over the reorganization, pointing out the negative impact in limiting access particularly for women.
Working Group
Overseas Protection and Resettlement
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