Canada to have new refugee stream for journalists, others who defend human rights
Minister Marco Mendicino says there will be a new path to Canada for refugees who fear persecution because of their defence of human rights.
The new stream will include anyone facing persecution for advocating or defending human rights with a special emphasis on journalists, women and advocates for LGBTQ and two-spirit people.
Human rights and democracy are “under siege” around the world, Mendicino said. He added Canada recognizes that refugees, in addition to people displaced by conflict, can also be those forced to flee because they worked to record human rights abuses, or defend the rights of others.
“From authoritarian regimes to organized crime, the threats have never been more severe,” Mendicino said.
“That means those who stand up for human rights need our protection more than ever.”
Canada’s new stream will be open to up to 250 human-rights defenders a year, including members of their families.
Canada is partnering with the United Nations Refugee Agency and international organizations such as Front Line Defenders and ProtectDefenders.eu, which specialize in aiding people who face threats because of their work to defend rights around the world.
Andrew Anderson, the executive director of Front Line Defenders, said Canada is one of the first countries to incorporate special refugee recognition for the defenders of human rights, and is going further than any other government has to date.
“We hope not only that this initiative will be successful and provide much needed support for those human rights defenders who need it, but also be an example that other governments will follow in order to ensure a strengthened international protection for human-rights defenders at risk,” he said.
Anderson said he also sees the program as a recognition of the critical but risky role human-rights defenders play around the world.
“We have seen an alarming trend that journalists in particular have come under serious threat where they face intimidation, harassment, torture, and even death,” said Mendicino.