CIMM – 6.3 – Resettlement Numbers Between Afghanistan and Syria – February 8, 2023
IRCC’s response to a request for information made by the
Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration on February 15, 2022
Question
Hon. Sean Fraser: I would point out […] that the timelines we're talking about to resettle 40,000 Afghan refugees far exceed the performance of virtually every other country in the world. I think there are some mistaken conflations between the opportunity we had to settle large numbers of refugees from Syria as opposed to Afghanistan. The circumstances were very different. If time allows in a subsequent question, I'd be happy to clarify why that's the case.
Ms. Jenny Kwan: Maybe the minister can submit that information to the committee in writing.
Response
The Afghanistan crisis is very different from that of Operation Syrian Refugees (OSR), which in 2015 represented Canada’s largest humanitarian commitment ever. Canada’s refugee program is legally and operationally designed to address the needs of refugees outside of their country of origin, consistent with the 1951 Refugee Convention.
In the case of OSR, all refugees resettled to Canada were already located outside of Syria. Key implementing partners, including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), provide key assistance managing relationships with host countries, facilitating required pre-departure medical and security screening and travel arrangements. Canada also collaborated with the Governments of Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey, who all hosted Syrian refugee populations and had fully functioning airports. The Government of Syria also continued to issue reliable identity documents.
Afghanistan is currently controlled by the Taliban, a listed terrorist entity for Canada, preventing any diplomatic engagements or negotiations whatsoever and creating significant barriers to facilitating the exit of Afghan nationals from Afghanistan. There is currently no Canadian presence on the ground in Afghanistan due to the ongoing security and safety concerns for both IRCC employees and prospective clients, preventing mandatory security screenings being completed for clients prior to departure from Afghanistan. Crossing Afghanistan’s border is also dangerous for our clients, whether by land or air, particularly given the level of violence reported towards attempted crossers, including reported physical violence, door-to-door searches, and “disappearances” of vulnerable persons. A constantly shifting political climate in the region, as well as current events on the world stage, create additional complications requiring high level diplomatic support and interventions by our federal partners.
IRCC recognizes many vulnerable, at-risk Afghans remain in Afghanistan, unable to leave. Our officials have established new partnerships, as well as building on existing ones, to address safety and security constraints limiting the mobility of Afghans person. In addition to engaging closely with countries in the region and developing new partnerships, IRCC has added more employees and resources in our missions abroad ensuring individuals qualified for our Special Immigration Measures are processed to completion quickly once out of Afghanistan. IRCC continues working with existing partners such as Front Line Defenders and Protect Defenders, who have been able to facilitate the movement of some human rights defenders to neighboring countries, and continue establishing new partnerships with organizations such as Aman Lara, who are able to facilitate the travel of Afghan clients across the Afghanistan border. IRCC also continues to explore various options for safe third countries, at both the diplomatic and working levels.
Given this unique and urgent situation, the Government of Canada has had to be responsive, innovative and flexible, and continue to seek approaches to expedite the movement of Afghans wishing to resettle to Canada.
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