Overseas Protection and Resettlement

That the CCR urge the Canadian Government to:

1. Enhance the ability of UNHCR to refer cases for resettlement until other viable referral mechanisms are put into place;
2. Make greater use of its authority in S. 150 of IRPR to allow direct access for refugees seeking resettlement.

That the CCR urge the Government of Canada to:

1. Provide adequate support to refugees in refugee camps until such time that the conditions become conducive for voluntary repatriation;
2. Explore other options such as resettlement of Afghan refugees to Canada and that the visa officers assess claims on individual merit an not presumed country conditions.

That the CCR write to the Director General of the International Region to request a statistical breakdown for the years 2000, 2001 and 2002 and annually thereafter of total private sponsorship undertakings submitted by post by year and total private sponsorship undertakings refused by post by year, and to separate applications and refusals by Groups of Five and Sponsorship Agreement Holder undertakings in order to better understand and address the causes of this backlog.

That the CCR:

1. Endorse the Sri Lankan Tamil Refugees Memorandum of Concern outlining principles on return;
2. Send a copy of the Memorandum of Concern to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, asking that Canada encourage the Sri Lankan Government to take steps to ensure that the refugees' concerns (as outlined in the memorandum of concern) are addressed in the peace process;
3. Send a copy of the Memorandum of Concern to the Minister for International Cooperation, asking that her department (CIDA) provide financial support to demining and rehabilitation/reconstruction efforts in Sri Lanka;
4. Ask the Government of Canada to encourage UNHCR to take steps to ensure that the refugees' concerns (as outlined in the memorandum of concern) are addressed in discussions, plans and programs on the possible voluntary return of the refugees home.

That the CCR:

1. Reiterate its condemnation of the charging of application and/or processing fees and oppose the application of any new charges to refugees resettled to Canada, based on the resettlement referral;
2. Call on CIC to ensure that sufficient funds are available through its own program budget funding to facilitate the applications, referrals and processing of all refugees abroad accepted for permanent residence.

That the CCR:

1. Urge CIC to consider as a basis for a refugee claim the ongoing insecurity in the country when assessing applications for resettlement from Iraqis and process them fully;
2. Raise with the Canadian government the need for:
   a)the immediate and ongoing clearing of unexploded ordinances including cluster bombs and landmines;
   b)a gendered understanding of the current humanitarian crisis in Iraq, that humanitarian and relief projects be particularly nuanced to address the needs of women and girls in war-torn Iraq, and that reconstruction projects in Iraq promote women in central and vital roles in the re-building of the institutions of civil and political life of the country.

That the CCR urge CIDA to:

1. In addition to providing funding to UN agencies, continue to provide humanitarian funding directly to non-governmental implementing organizations providing material assistance directly to refugees;
2. Remain aware of the effectiveness and positive impact of aid provided to refugees and displaced persons;
3. Increase the proportion of Official Development Assistance (ODA) directed to humanitarian relief and development assistance going to refugee situations and protracted camp situations.

That the CCR:

1. Urge the Government of Canada to assign more officers to African visa posts, particularly Accra, Abidjan and Nairobi, with a mandate to process women at risk refugee files, and to ensure expedited processing by waiving interviews where UNHCR records are clear and complete to allow for in-Canada security and medicals where the woman and her dependant children's well-being is in doubt;
2. Urge UNHCR to send additional resettlement officers to Africa for the identification and selection of women at risk;
3. Urge CIDA to increase funding for the identification and protection of refugee women at risk and their children;
4. Urge the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration to direct visa officers to comply with their own overseas protection guidelines in processing vulnerable and at risk refugee cases (3 to 6 months).

That the CCR:

1. Urge the Canadian Government to set resettlement targets at a minimum of 8% of overall immigration targets, while respecting the private sponsorship principle of additionality;
2. Work together with the SAH representatives to the NGO-Government Committee on the Private Sponsorship of Refugees to negotiate annual private sponsorship targets with CIC.

That the CCR:

1. Urge the Canadian Government to require that visa officers advise refugees and other applicants for permanent residence of the option to apply for Ministerial Relief pursuant to s. 34(2) of IRPA in cases where they are considering rejection of their case pursuant to s. 34(1).
2. Write to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration about the significance of Ministerial Relief and ask the Minister to act more generously in issuing Ministerial Relief.