Media Advisory
For Immediate Release

5 March 2007

 
Press conference:
Lives on hold: The faces behind humanitarian and compassionate applications
 
Members of the media are invited to a press conference where new information will be presented on the situation of moratorium country nationals.  After waiting years, many of these nationals have recently received a negative response to their application for permanent residence.  Others have waited years for a decision.  Their lives therefore remain on hold and the need for a comprehensive solution is more urgent than ever. 
 
Personal profiles of the people affected by negative decisions made in response to humanitarian and compassionate applications will be made public.
 
When:    Wednesday 7 March 2007, 10 am
Place:    Centre Afrika, 1644 rue St-Hubert, Montréal
Speakers: Nationals of moratorium countries – Iraq, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zimbabwe - whose applications have been rejected or have been waiting years for decisions
Denis Chouinard, filmmaker, Stowaways and Tar Angel
Janet Dench, Canadian Council for Refugees
Contact:  Colleen French, CCR Communications Coordinator, (514) 277-7223 ext. 1


 
Information on “Lives on Hold” (the situation of moratorium nationals) can be found at http://www.ccrweb.ca/livesonhold.htm. The profiles will be made available on this site as of 7 March 2007.

Lives on Hold coalition: Canadian Council for Refugees,  the Table de concertation des organismes au service des personnes réfugiées et immigrantes, the Ligue des droits et libertés, and communities of the moratoria countries
 

The Canadian Council for Refugees is a non-profit umbrella organization committed to the rights and protection of refugees in Canada and around the world and to the settlement of refugees and immigrants in Canada. The membership is made up of over 170 organizations involved in refugee sponsorship and protection and in newcomer settlement. The CCR serves the networking, information-exchange and advocacy needs of its membership.

6839 Drolet #302, Montréal, QC, Canada H2S 2T1 TEL.: (514) 277-7223 FAX : (514) 277-1447
EMAIL: ccr@web.ca
WEB SITE: www.web.ca/ccr