Overseas Protection and Resettlement

that the CCR:

1. Recognise the rights of Palestinians to self-determination and to live a life free from violence, oppression, occupation, famine and genocide;
2. Affirm the right of return for all Palestinian refugees and IDPs;
3. Recognise and condemn the catastrophic situation in Gaza as an ongoing genocide and ethnic cleansing of refugees and internally displaced persons and call for a permanent ceasefire;
4. Recognise, adopt, and integrate the definition for “Anti-Palestinian Racism,” as described by the 2022 Arab Canadian Lawyers Association report, into relevant future policies, communications and practices;
5. Call on the Canadian government to adopt measures to counteract “Anti-Palestinian Racism” as described by the 2022 Arab Canadian Lawyers Association report in all its policies and practices, including immigration policies;
6. Demand that the Canadian government, including relevant ministries, end Canada’s complicity in the genocide and ethnic cleansing of Palestinian refugees and IDPs, including but not limited to advocating for a full, two-way and immediate arms embargo on Israel until it complies with international law;
7. Call on the Canadian government to fulfill Canada’s legal obligation to uphold and support the emergency measures recommended by the ICJ and the full implementation of ICJ and International Criminal Court (ICC) rulings.

 

that the CCR:

1. Supports a definition of family that takes into account the family realities observed in various cultural communities and other family dependency situations (multigenerational family, de facto child, brother and sister, etc.), as well as the specific realities of other diverse social groups, including the families of people from LGBTQ+ communities.

 

that the CCR:

1. Recognizes the efforts made by Canada in support of the International Decade’s objectives and the fact that there is a long way to fully achieve these objectives;
2. Calls on the Government of Canada to live up to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s commitment regarding the International Decade that Canada will take “a whole-of-government approach that builds upon the framework of the Decade, by developing policies and projects that tackle anti-Black racism, discrimination, and bias in public and private institutions.”;
3. Calls on IRCC to create a permanent actionable policy to further the objectives of the International Decade for People of African Descent.

 

that the CCR calls on:

1. IRCC to develop a rapid response framework to respond to humanitarian crises that is transparent and equitable regardless of race, nationality and ethnicity and that respects the principle of additionality
2. And to develop equal opportunities for nationals, refugees and others needing humanitarian protection to access temporary and permanent pathways to protection in Canada.

 

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.