Overseas Protection and Resettlement

That the CCR:

1. Advocate that the future conclusion of UNHCR Executive Committee on “self-reliance” be broadly stated to include such activities as the right to work, practice professions, run businesses, own property, move freely and choose their place for residence and have travel documents.
2. Advocate that the future conclusion on self-reliance affirm that such rights are integral to UNHCR’s protection mandate.
3. Advocate that CIDA integrate refugee rights to self-reliance activities into its aid and development programs.

That the CCR:

1. Support the provision of comprehensive gender-based reproductive health care for all, and women and girls in particular, in conflict-affected settings.
2. Recognize that diminished political support for reproductive health combined with reduced funding for these programs can have and is having a devastating impact on refugee and displaced women, men and youth.
3. Endorse the Reproductive Health General Statement that calls upon the US government, lawmakers, donors, United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations to renew their commitment and strengthen their response to reproductive health needs for women, men and youth in conflict-affected settings through increased funding and political support.

That the CCR ask the Canadian government to collaborate with the African Union to achieve a more humane approach to diplomacy in the Horn of Africa and to use unilateral, bilateral, regional and multilateral means to apply pressure on:

1. The Ethiopian government to withdraw its soldiers from Somalia and to refrain from further escalating the tension by dragging people into war.
2. The Eritrean government to stop trying to wage their conflict with Ethiopia in Somalia.

That the CCR:

1. Urge CIC to consider resettlement of Liberians to Canada for whom repatriation is not the preferred option and as part of a broader effort to achieve durable solutions for all Liberian refugees in West Africa.
2. Ask CIC to consult with interested NGOs in Canada regarding resettlement to Canada of Liberian refugees in West Africa.
3. Encourage CIC to review sponsorship cases rejected in 2006 if the refugees live in camp-based situations and were rejected on the basis that repatriation is available to them.
4. Request UNHCR to stop reducing financial support to the refugees in Buduburam Camp and restore the assistance to the past year level.
5. Request CIDA to become actively involved in the post-war reconstruction in Liberia.

That the CCR urge CIC to review increasingly serious concerns around interpretation at interviews, including allegations of bias, and ask that standards be adopted to ensure quality of interpretation.

That the CCR request that the Canadian government increase the overall numbers of refugees to be resettled in Canada, and that, within this increase, special consideration be given to increasing the number of Iraqis to be resettled.

That the CCR:

1. Request the Government of Canada establish an NGO-Government Committee on African refugee and immigrant issues to further monitor and document the situation and propose viable solutions;
2. Seek collaboration on these issues with Canadian Council on International Cooperation (CCIC), especially the CCIC Africa Group;
3. Once again request to be involved meaningfully in the Annual Levels Consultation process.

That the CCR:

1. Request to the Government of Canada, especially CIDA and CIC, to work with NGOs to develop a Canadian strategy to address protracted refugee situations that uses all tools at Canada’s disposal including funding for preventative health treatment, job skills training, health treatment, education etc. in refugee camps and urban settings;
2. Urge the Government of Canada to amend the Terms and Conditions of various instruments to allow for more flexibility and responsiveness in programming, including the flexibility to fund integration programming overseas;
3. Request the Government of Canada that Canada’s contributions to the World Bank include instructions that poverty reduction strategy papers should include strategies to help reduce poverty within refugee populations.

That the CCR call on the Canadian government to:

1. Provide increased bilateral and multilateral support to Syria, Jordan and other neighbouring countries in the region that are hosting over two million Iraqi refugees.
2. Urge the governments in the region to keep their borders open to Iraqi refugees seeking asylum.
3. Increase overall resettlement targets (for both government-assisted and privately sponsored refugees) so that there can be a significant increase in numbers of Iraqi refugees resettled to Canada, without reducing the number of refugees resettled from other regions.
4. Expedite the processing of Iraqi refugees being resettled to Canada, including the security checks.
5. Educate the Canadian public about the needs of Iraqi refugees and promote the involvement of Canadians in the private sponsorship of Iraqi refugees.
6. Respond positively to UNHCR referrals for resettlement of Palestinian refugees in the border camps between Iraq and Syria.
7. Press other countries not to forcibly return Iraqis to their country of origin.
8. Allocate additional resources to the Damascus mission to ensure that the processing of refugees is not negatively affected by the expediting of family class applications.

That the CCR urge the Canadian government to commit to maintain global access to resettlement and increase the resources to make that access effective.