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Overseas Protection and Resettlement

Immigration Loans Program

Resolution number
5
Whereas
  1. Resettled refugees and dependants abroad of protected persons are required to repay the costs of overseas medical exams, IOM processing charges, and travel costs;
  2. Under IRPA, Canada has made a commitment to resettle refugees who are most in need of protection, many of whom have multiple barriers to their integration;
  3. Repayment of these loans by single mothers, youth, and families further marginalizes and impoverishes these groups, diminishing their capacity to integrate;
Therefore be it resolved

That the CCR call upon the Governments of Canada and Quebec to absorb the costs of the transportation and overseas medical expenses for resettled refugees and dependants abroad of protected persons, without reducing the total number of resettled refugees.

Working Group
Overseas Protection and Resettlement
Subject
Transportation loans

Somalia

Resolution number
7
Whereas
  1. There has been no functioning central government and/or other public institutions to protect vulnerable groups and/or prevent human rights abuses in Somalia since 1991;
  2. In the past year, humanitarian workers and human rights defenders have been the victims of an increased number of targeted killings on the part of both the Transitional Federal Government and armed militia groups;
  3. Humanitarian workers, human rights defenders and civilians who are not protected are forced to flee both inside and outside their country in order to find protection;
Therefore be it resolved

That the CCR request that the Canadian government:

  1. Where possible provide support to UN institutions, government and non-government agencies in Somalia and in the surrounding countries which aim to protect and support humanitarian workers, human rights defenders and civilians in Somalia;
  2. Respond more effectively to the resettlement needs of Somali refugees and their families who are displaced in countries around the world.
Working Group
Overseas Protection and Resettlement

Colombia resettlement levels

Resolution number
6
Whereas
  1. The Colombian conflict has not lessened during the last year;
  2. Different international organizations have pointed to the continuation of political persecution and human rights violations;
  3. Displacement levels are higher than ever before;
Therefore be it resolved

That the CCR request the Canadian Government to maintain the current resettlement levels for Colombian refugees through the Source Country Class.

Working Group
Overseas Protection and Resettlement
Subject
Source country

Visa office referred cases

Resolution number
5
Whereas
  1. The Private Sponsorship of Refugees (PSR) program was established on the principle of additionality;
  2. In November 2006, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration increased the upper limit of the PSR target to 4,500 persons in order to allow for flexibility for sponsors to respond to visa office referred cases without decreasing the number of sponsor referred cases processed;
Therefore be it resolved

That the CCR call for visa office referred cases to be processed in addition to the established targets of both GARs and PSRs at all visa posts.

Working Group
Overseas Protection and Resettlement
Subject
Levels

Forced returns of Iraqi asylum seekers in European countries

Resolution number
9
Whereas
  1. Shelling is occurring in northern Iraq;
  2. The relationship between the Kurdistan province in northern Iraq and the central government is fragile and could lead to violence at any time;
  3. Iraqis are being deported from European countries to Iraq;
  4. Canada has a moratorium on returns to Iraq;
Therefore be it resolved

That the CCR request the Canadian government to urge European governments to stop deporting Iraqi asylum seekers to Iraq, including to the Kurdistan region.

Working Group
Overseas Protection and Resettlement

Protection of Canadian Citizens Overseas

Resolution number
8
Whereas
  1. The protection of Canadian citizens overseas, including Mr. Abousfian Abdelrazik who is stuck in Sudan, is an essential component of citizenship rights;
  2. The denial of a Canadian passport to Mr. Abdelrazik may set a negative precedent of two-tier citizenship and leave citizens with a refugee background in orbit;
Therefore be it resolved

That the CCR urge the Canadian government to protect Canadian citizens overseas against torture and cruel and unusual treatment and provide them with the right to return with no discrimination whatsoever.

Working Group
Overseas Protection and Resettlement
Subject
Citizenship

Camp Ashraf

Resolution number
7
Whereas
  1. There are 3,400 Iranian dissidents in Iraq at Camp Ashraf who were granted protected persons status under the Fourth Geneva Convention by the Multinational Forces in Iraq. In December 2008 protection of the Camp was handed over to the Government of Iraq;
  2. In January 2009, Iraqi National Security Adviser Mowaffak al Rubaie threatened to make life “intolerable” for the residents of Camp Ashraf in order to spur them to leave Iraq;
  3. Among Al Rubaie’s threats was the forcible relocation of the residents from the Camp, where they have lived for more that two decades and constructed a fully developed town, to an empty desert near the Saudi Arabia border;
  4. Both Amnesty International (AI Index: MDE 14/012/2009, 20 April 2009) and the European Parliament (resolution April 24, 2009) have protested Al Rubaie’s threat of intolerable treatment;
  5. The recent introduction of a large Iraqi police force into Camp Ashraf despite the presence of both the Iraqi and US military at the Camp has alarmed the international community;
  6. George Okoth-Obbo, Director of International Protection, UNHCR, in March 2007 asked the Government of Iraq to refrain from any action that could endanger the life or security of the residents of Camp Ashraf such as their forcible displacement inside Iraq;
Therefore be it resolved

That the CCR:

  1. Call on the Government of Canada to oppose forcible relocation or any other mistreatment of the residents of Camp Ashraf in violation of international standards, and to assert that the protection and humane treatment of the residents of Camp Ashraf is a matter of international concern which justifies monitoring by the Multinational Forces while they remain in Iraq and afterwards by the international community once the Multinational Forces leave.
  2. Ask the UNHCR to reiterate its 2007 statement about forcible displacement in light of the current situation.
Working Group
Overseas Protection and Resettlement

Commitment to Asylum

Resolution number
6
Whereas
  1. The right to access asylum in Canada is a legal international obligation under the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees;
  2. Resettlement of refugees from abroad, although not an obligation under the Convention, is a demonstration of Canada’s responsibility sharing and commitment to refugees;
  3. The global trend of States to limiting access to asylum is causing the shrinkage of asylum space as the needs increase,
Therefore be it resolved

That the CCR call on the government of Canada to:

  1. Reiterate and increase its commitment to continue to resettle refugees from abroad, and at the same time ensure that refugee resettlement numbers overall are not conditional on the number of persons accepted as refugees in Canada;
  2. Comply with its obligations under the Convention to ensure access to fair and efficient status determination for all persons seeking asylum at the Canadian borders and in Canada regardless of the numbers admitted under its resettlement from abroad program.
Working Group
Overseas Protection and Resettlement

Sri Lanka – Canadian response

Resolution number
5
Whereas
  1. A humanitarian catastrophe has been unfolding in Sri Lanka since early this year;
  2. More than 300,000 Tamils displaced in the North and East of Sri Lanka are trapped in a deteriorating humanitarian situation and Tamils in other parts of Sri Lanka are vulnerable to harassment, humiliation and threat of violence;
  3. The largest Tamil diaspora community lives in Canada;
Therefore be it resolved

That the CCR call on the Government of Canada to act forcefully to promote human rights in Sri Lanka, support humanitarian aid, call for the establishment of an international commission on Sri Lanka to investigate and prosecute any allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity, and to support efforts to work towards a long-term political solution to redress the systemic violations of the human rights of Tamils in Sri Lanka.

Working Group
Overseas Protection and Resettlement

Sri Lanka – UNHCR

Resolution number
4
Whereas
  1. A humanitarian catastrophe has been unfolding in Sri Lanka since early this year;
  2. More than 300,000 Tamils displaced in the North and East of Sri Lanka are trapped in a deteriorating humanitarian situation and Tamils in other parts of Sri Lanka are vulnerable to harassment, humiliation and threat of violence;
Therefore be it resolved

That the CCR call on the UNHCR to establish an international mission to:

  1. Conduct an assessment of current conditions confronting civilians in the war-affected regions and implement appropriate measures to ensure their immediate safety and security;
  2. Assess and address the immediate risk and resettlement needs of displaced persons in the zone, and in the IDP camps;
  3. Assess and address the long-term resettlement and rehabilitation needs of individuals and communities in the war-affected regions.
Working Group
Overseas Protection and Resettlement
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