Canada urged to help more Central Americans
Just 11 refugees have arrived in the country as part of a UN program
Advocates are disappointed that Canada has welcomed just 11 refugees in a United Nations program designed to help thousands of Central Americans flee a life of kidnapping, gangs and sexual violence.
The Protection Transfer Arrangement, in effect since 2016, was touted as “an innovative life-saving mechanism” for people trying to escape the socalled Northern Triangle — El Salvador, Honduras and Guatamela — which has some of the highest homicide rates in the world for countries not at war.
The program identified more than 3,100 people in need of protection, but so far, only 387 migrants have been resettled.
“We are really disappointed at the response to the PTA,” said Pamela Arancibia of the Coalition for Northern Central America, a Toronto-based advocacy group for migrants from the Northern Triangle region.
“Resettlement is one mechanism we have to address the crisis. This is not acceptable.”
Canada surpassed the U.S. and resettled more refugees than any other country in the world in 2018. Although Ottawa brought in more than 28,000 under its refugee sponsorship programs last year, Canada mostly welcomed migrants from the Middle East, Africa and Asia, with few coming from Central and South America.
This week, after criticisms of not doing enough for the escalating crisis in Venezuela, Ottawa announced it would support the decree passed by the Venezuelan opposition-controlled National Assembly in early June and recognize the validity of Venezuelan passports that have expired because the government has not been able to replace them in the midst of an administrative meltdown.
Although Venezuelan travellers must still fulfil all eligibility and entry requirements, those who are already in Canada or planning to come can still use their invalid passports, so they will not be caught in limbo.
The U.S. and Canada are rolling back their commitment to protecting people fleeing violence and persecution as part of the worldwide trend to deny refugees the right to protection, with Mexico being the “buffer” to migrants forced to seek protection in North America. Canadian companies have economic interests in the resource extraction industry in the region, which can sidestep the government’s response to the regional crisis, said Craig Damian Smith, associate director of the Global Migration Lab at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy.
Ottawa hasn’t really focused on the crisis on its own continent, Smith said, because the government has resisted calling out President Donald Trump’s controversial practices, such as the U.S. administration’s plan to eliminate access to asylum for Central Americans.
“Our resettlement of Syrian refugees showed that we can act quickly. Canada needs to step up and help,” Smith said, adding that the Liberal government should use the UN Protection Transfer Arrangement to make an impact.
In a statement Tuesday night, immigration department spokesperson Beatrice Fenelon said: “Canada is currently providing support in Central America, addressing the root causes of migration and instability in the region through international development, humanitarian assistance, security, co-operation, and capacity building activities. “Although IRCC does not currently rely on the Protection Transfer Agreement (PTA) process we continue to resettle vulnerable individuals from the region referred to Canada by UNHCR.”
Under the joint program by the UN Refugee Agency, International Organization for Migration and the Costa Rican government, civic organizations in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatamela screen and identify high-risk migrants before transferring them to Costa Rica. There they wait for their resettlement to a third country willing to take them.
According to the UN Refugee Agency, of the 387 migrants resettled under that program over the past three years, 322 were taken in by the U.S., 30 by Australia, 24 by Uruguay and 11 by Canada (all in Quebec). Recently, Brazil also welcomed 11.
“We are confident that Canada has a strong role to play in the region,” said Jean-Nicolas Beuze, representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Ottawa.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland are to meet this week in Ottawa, and the situation in Venezuela will be on the agenda. The UNHCR estimates 4.3 million Venezuelans fled economic and political turmoil, mainly to Colombia.