c31 human rights obligations

Bill C-31 - What it means

HUMAN RIGHTS OBLIGATIONS

As a signatory to international human rights instruments, Canada has obligations to respect the human rights of non-citizens. The new Immigration and Refugee Protection Act needs to meet the standards set out in these instruments.

Unfortunately, despite some references, the bill does not incorporate the relevant instruments.

The following are only some of the comments that could be made on the bill's compliance with human rights standards.

Bill C-31 makes specific reference to the Convention Against Torture and provides for the protection of people who are at risk of torture as defined in Article 1 of that Convention (S. 90(2)(a)).

However, the bill does not fully respect Article 3 of the Convention, which prohibits sending anyone back to torture. Under the bill, the prohibition against sending to torture does not apply to people who are inadmissible on grounds of serious criminality or security (S. 108(2)).

Article 3 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child requires that states make the best interests of the child a primary consideration in all decisions taken concerning them. The bill makes a step in the right direction by referring at various points to the need to take account of the best interests of any child directly affected. However, to comply fully with the Convention, the higher standard of primary consideration should be introduced and should apply to all decisions taken under the Act.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights recently released its Report on the situation of human rights of asylum seekers within the Canadian refugee determination system (28 February 2000). This report makes a series of recommendations.

Bill C-31's inclusion of an appeal on the merits in the refugee determination system and the consolidation of risk review at the IRB respond to two of the recommendations. However, there are many other recommendations to which the bill does not respond at all, or in fact aggravates the current situation. For example, the report calls for the substantive determination of eligibility to be placed within the competence of the IRB. The bill, on the other hand, actually increases the categories of people who will be declared ineligible and therefore prevented from being heard by the IRB. The report also includes recommendations on re-opening provisions, expediting family reunification, preventing long-term detention, adding safeguards in the security certificate procedure and not separating families through removals.

In view of the importance of ensuring Canada's compliance with international human rights obligations, the CCR is calling on the government to seek an opinion on the bill from relevant international human rights bodies, notably the UN Committee against Torture, the UN Human Rights Committee and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.