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CCR Resolutions Database

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  • Silence on plight of Afghan refugees

    Res.: 13
    Whereas:
    1. The Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan for the U.N. Commission for Human Rights of February 1993 clearly shows that there are serious human rights crises in Afghanistan and in the Afghan refugee camps in Pakistan;
    2. Women and non-fundamentalists are subject to persecution and selective assassination by extremist fundamentalists in the refugee camps in Pakistan, with women and girls being denied employment and access to education;
    3. Aid to the Afghan refugees in the camps in Pakistan has been severely cut back;
    4. Afghan refugees represent 20 to 25% of all the refugees in the world but this is not reflected in Canadian resettlement efforts;
    5. Church and group sponsorship applications have been refused by Canadian visa officers in Pakistan and India, who claim that they do not meet the refugee definition, despite the massive violations of the refugees' human rights;
    6. Some Afghan refugee claimants have been refused by I.R.B. members who are not aware of the true situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan;
    Therefore be it resolved:
    1. The CCR reaffirm the positions adopted in Resolution 7 of May 1993;
    2. The CCR call on the government and the UNHCR to use the Women at Risk program to assist Afghan women who are in need and to make visa officers aware of this program;
    3. The CCR call on the government to give special consideration to Afghan refugees for resettlement in Canada, recognizing their protection and resettlement needs in the light of the continued civil war.

  • Call to ban anti-personnel land mines

    Res.: 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.

  • Long term protection for Iraqi Kurdistan

    Res.: 11
    Whereas:
    1. The UN sees "repatriation" as the preferred solution and has established the "no fly zone" in Iraqi Kurdistan as a precedent-setting venture;
    2. It is of extreme importance that this program be carried out successfully, for the sake not only of the Kurds of Northern Iraq, but also of other minority groups who may find themselves in similar crises in the future;
    3. The key weakness of the current program is that it does not provide a long term guarantee of protection for the inhabitants of Iraqi Kurdistan. The current fragile state of protection serves as a grave deterrent to resettlement and, if lifted, could lead to yet another mass exodus;
    Therefore be it resolved:

    That the CCR request the Department of External Affairs to urge the United Nations Security Council to explore measures to fully guarantee long-term protection for the people of Iraqi Kurdistan.

  • Guidelines on gender persecution for visa posts

    Res.: 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.