Citizenship and Immigration Committee on July 20th, 2016

[The Chair, Liberal, Borys Wrzesnewskyj]

Good morning.

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) and the motion adopted by the committee on June 16, 2016, the committee will resume its study on immigration measures for the protection of vulnerable groups.

Appearing before us today for the first panel we have, from the Arakan Project, Ms. Chris Lewa. Ms. Lewa is joining us not by video conference, but by voice conference from Brussels. From the Sentinel Project for Genocide Prevention, we have Mr. Drew Boyd, the director of operations. Thank you for being with us here today in person and by audio.

I'd like to begin with Mr. Boyd, if you could take seven minutes to make your presentation. Thank you.

[Drew Boyd, Director of Operations, The Sentinel Project for Genocide Prevention]

I want to thank the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration for inviting me today. I also extend to you my appreciation for your willingness to address the protection of vulnerable groups currently under threat around the world.

The Sentinel Project for Genocide Prevention is a Toronto-based NGO that works to prevent mass atrocities, including the crime of genocide, through direct co-operation with threatened communities and the innovative use of technology.

We operate in several countries, most notably in Myanmar, formerly Burma, where we use new methods of employing the existing telecommunications infrastructure to prevent intercommunal violence, especially that directed by extremists toward the Muslim minority groups such as the Rohingya. Elsewhere we have worked in Kenya's Tana Delta and Lamu regions, which are plagued both by intercommunal violence and terror attacks by the Islamist Al-Shabaab militia based in Somalia. We also operate a small fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles to support civilian protection and other beneficial applications as part of a broader effort to advance the field of humanitarian aerospace.

One of the most challenging issues to overcome when working in unstable environments is that of accessibility. That means not just the ability of organizations to bring assistance where it is needed, but also the ability of threatened communities themselves to participate in the assistance programs and benefit from them.

The question of how one bridges the gap caused by disarray and uncertainty caused by violence and exacerbated by geography is a difficult one to answer. In our experience at least part of the solution is to investigate the role of underutilized information and communications infrastructure already in place and to build capable objective-driven systems on top of it.

Information when seen and used in a humanitarian or a development context can help in overcoming barriers, making smart decisions, quickly identifying focal areas, and assessing risks. This is representative of a growing recognition that information itself can be a form of humanitarian aid, since people require high quality information to make effective decisions about their lives, especially those living in difficult and dangerous conditions. Without putting the right information into the right peoples hands, delivery of every other form of assistance, such as food, medicine, shelter, and protection, is going to be less effective.

One area of particular concern for us is the regions occupied by or in the vicinity of the Islamic State group, and specifically their targeting of the Yazidi, Christian, and Shia communities. As recently as January of this year, one of our board members has been active in northern Iraq during a fact-finding mission and has highlighted some of the barriers to action, as well as some of the opportunities for assisting vulnerable groups where accessibility is an issue.

The barriers are most often institutional, primarily relating to rampant corruption combined with an understandably fractured power infrastructure. While these conditions can hinder work throughout the region, they are especially salient in places where minority communities are distrustful of regional governments and their representatives. This is certainly the case with the Yazidis in Iraq.

We have assessed the communication infrastructure, and the region is capable of supporting systems that circumvent power structures and connect outreach efforts directly to residents. Such systems can be used for extending the reach of Canadian government assistance efforts, broadcasting information to physically unreachable populations, and facilitating coordination.

It's also important to recognize that Christian, Shia, and particularly Yazidi communities currently face an existential threat at the hands of groups such as the Islamic State, but just as their persecution did not begin with this extremist organization, neither will it end with them. I encourage the Government of Canada to commit to a long-term view of assistance for marginalized communities in Iraq and the Levant.

I also encourage the Government of Canada to investigate innovative approaches to mitigating the extreme targeting of marginalized communities, which is unique in the new challenges that it brings and requires creative responses. Conventional methods alone may not be sufficient to fully address these crises, but they can have a greater impact when supported by new tools available to us, such as widely accessible mobile telecommunications and open source software.

Canada will be more impactful if it adopts and adapts these same tools when responding to crises created by those who persecute vulnerable minorities and threaten their very existence.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Borys Wrzesnewskyj]

Thank you, Mr. Boyd.

Now we turn to Ms. Lewa, who is here by audio and not by video due to security concerns. Ms. Lewa, you have seven minutes, please.

[Chris Lewa, Director, The Arakan Project]

Sorry, I believe that I am on video for the meeting. I was told that it would be the case, but it would not be put on the Internet later.

[The Chair, Liberal, Borys Wrzesnewskyj]

The video is completely shut off.

[Chris Lewa]

The members of the committee can see me.

[The Chair, Liberal, Borys Wrzesnewskyj]

You can see us, but no one can see you.

[Chris Lewa]

Oh, I see. I don't know what the problem is because I said that I just do not want it to be posted online after this meeting, but for the live debates I can be on video.

[The Chair, Liberal, Borys Wrzesnewskyj]

Ms. Lewa, these are carried live. If we put you on the screen, you will be publicly displayed on the screen. So, as per your request, we've removed the video portion. You can see us. We cannot see you, but we can definitely hear you.

Please proceed. You have seven minutes.

[Chris Lewa]

Okay. Thank you.

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Surrey Centre, BC]

Sorry, Chair, but you might want to let her know her audio will be shared live. As long as she's aware of that it's okay.

[The Chair, Liberal, Borys Wrzesnewskyj]

Please proceed. You have seven minutes.

[Chris Lewa]

Mr. Chair and honourable members of the committee, thank you for inviting me to speak today on the persecuted Rohingya minority from Rakhine State in Myanmar.

The Arakan Project is an NGO based in the region, documenting the human rights situation of the Rohingya in Myanmar for the past 15 years, and also monitoring conditions of Rohingya refugees in host countries as well as irregular maritime movement. The Rohingya Muslims have been described as the most persecuted minority on earth. For decades, they have faced intense discrimination and exclusion on the basis of their religion and ethnicity. They have been rendered stateless. Their movements are severely restricted. They are subject to gross human rights abuses by the Myanmar authority. Moreover, long-standing hostility by Rakhine Buddhists broke out in communal violence against them in 2012, and for the past four years, 120,000 Rohingya have remained confined to segregated displacement camps in Myanmar.

In the last few weeks, the new NLD-led government has taken some first steps to address anti-Muslim movements inciting violence in the country. On May 30, the government also established a senior level central committee on the implementation of peace, stability, and development in Rakhine State. However, its mandate and task have not been made public. Of concern is that this initiative may be based on the draft Rakhine State action plan that was leaked to the media in 2014 and which is deeply problematic. There are clearly no easy solutions to the crisis in Rakhine State.

Over the years, thousands of Rohingya have fled from Myanmar by boat and over land, and especially since 2012. In May 2015, Thailand's anti-trafficking campaign resulted in boat loads of Rohingya abandoned at sea by smugglers, who were initially not allowed to disembark anywhere in the region.

Today, more than 100,000 Rohingya refugees are registered by the UNHCR in the Asian region. Many, many more are unregistered. According to the UNHCR, figures in the five main host countries in June 2016 were as follows: Bangladesh, 32,885 refugees registered, plus 200 to 500,000 unregistered; Malaysia, 53,163 registered, plus 50 to 70,000 unregistered; Thailand, 602 registered; Indonesia, 962 registered; India, 14,422 registered. In the last three countries, there are an unknown number of unregistered refugees as well.

None of these countries have ratified a refugee convention or statelessness convention, nor have they enacted domestic legislation to protect refugees. The Rohingya in these states generally are considered to be irregular migrants. Malaysia, Indonesia, and India allow UNHCR to assist the refugees, including Rohingya, but UNHCR registration only provides informal protection and can be difficult to access.

Bangladesh only recognizes as refugees Rohingya who fled during the 1991-92 exodus, and Thailand keeps Rohingya in indefinite detention. In Bangladesh and Aceh, registered Rohingya are housed in refugee camps where basic services are provided by the UNHCR and its partners. However, in Malaysia and India, they are living among host communities in slums or makeshift camps with little to no assistance. Access to formal education is usually not available, with refugees relying on community-supported or NGO schools. Access to health care is also inadequate.

With the exception of India, Rohingya refugees do not have the right to work and are vulnerable to exploitation as well as to arrest and detention as undocumented migrants. India started issuing long-term visas to refugees in 2015, and Malaysia is currently discussing the issuance of work permits to Rohingya refugees. Rohingya refugees are at constant risk of arrests. In Malaysia, about 2,500 Rohingya were trapped in immigration detention during my last visit in February. The 320 refugees who had landed in 2015 were finally released last week.

In Indonesia, I was just told that there are at least 50 in detention, including women and children. In Thailand, about 400 rescued or arrested refugees in past years are being indefinitely held in immigration detention centres for men, or in government shelters for women, children, and victims of trafficking.

Canada was the first country to resettle Rohingya refugees in 2007, selected from Bangladeshi refugee camps. After Bangladesh suspended resettlement in 2010, small numbers were taken in from Sri Lanka, Cambodia, and Malaysia. Recently, Canada also accepted a few from among those rescued in Aceh last year.

The UNHCR's priority in Asia is to encourage states to take more responsibility for solutions for refugees, including registration. Thus, referrals for resettlement are made on an individual basis according to vulnerability criteria or specific needs. The UNHCR does not promote large-scale or group resettlement, including of the Rohingya. Nevertheless, the Arakan Project is advocating that resettlement countries, including Canada, increase their intake of Rohingya refugees and to consider for resettlement not just the most vulnerable but also others, such as families with youth, for whom resettlement would provide access to education and a better chance of integration.

Rohingyas seeking protection outside Myanmar are not just refugees but are also stateless. While resolving the situation of those currently inside Myanmar will take time, the potential repatriation of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar, including those born in exile, cannot be envisaged in the near future. In the meantime, a generation of youth, without access to education, is being wasted. Resettlement should be extended as one of the durable solutions for Rohingya refugees.

The Arakan Project recommends, first, that the Canadian government continue its advocacy, with respect to the Government of Myanmar, for democracy and human rights and the urgent need for a resolution to the marginalization of the Rohingya; second, that it increase its support for the provision of basic services, including education, to Rohingyan refugees in all countries; third, that it continue its advocacy in states in Asia for regularizing the Rohingya, including in Malaysia, through the issuing of work permits; fourth, more specifically, that the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration increase the number of Rohingyan refugees selected through government-sponsored refugee resettlement programs; fifth, that it increase the ability of Rohingyans to access private resettlement through the repeal of the requirement that we settle refugees sponsored by community groups—and I'm talking about the groups of five community sponsors—who are recognized and referred by the UNHCR; and, finally, that it consider the reintroduction of the source country class to allow resettlement of particularly vulnerable Rohingya from within Myanmar.

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Borys Wrzesnewskyj]

Thank you, Ms. Lewa.

Mr. Tabbara, you have seven minutes.

[Marwan Tabbara, Liberal, Kitchener South—Hespeler, ON]

Thank you both for being here in person and by audio. I want to thank you for the great work you're doing helping vulnerable people around the world.

Ms. Lewa, the UN considers the Rohingya people to be one of the most persecuted minorities in the world. In 2016, a UN report raised the possibility of a pattern of violations against the Rohingya amounting to crimes against humanity. The report documented a wide range of systematic human rights violations and abuses, including forced labour, sexual violence, and threats to life and security.

I know that there are a lot of Rohingyas who have been living in refugee camps since the violence of 2015. Can you tell us a little bit about the living conditions in these camps?

[Chris Lewa]

Yes. I think you are talking mostly about the internally displaced people's camps inside Myanmar.

[Marwan Tabbara, Liberal, Kitchener South—Hespeler, ON]

Yes, sorry.

[Chris Lewa]

Right, they are not the refugee camps outside the country.

Yes, I visited them at the end of May and was shocked. I have visited these camps every year now, and the conditions today are absolutely unacceptable and appalling. There are so many problems. Of course, access to health care is a big issue, because the Rohingya, as I said, are completely confined and segregated in these camps and cannot access health facilities outside except under military escort. There is only one hospital, in Sittwe, and many people are afraid to go there. Those who live in faraway camps sometimes need to arrange transportation by boat, etc., because the local Rakhine community does not allow Rohingya patients to actually access the local hospital, which is sometimes a few hundred metres from the camp.

Shelter is another issue. After four years, they're still in the same temporary shelters made of bamboo. Initially they were built because nobody wanted to see these camps as permanent, but now, after four years, I think there is an absolute need to replace these shelters. They are falling apart. It makes it very dangerous for children and families.

The sanitation is also pretty bad. Lots of toilets were destroyed. Women had to, for example, defecate in the fields. They were also at increased risk. There is a sense of desperation there. These people used to live together with the Rakhine in the town of Sittwe or nearby, and now they just don't see anything happening.

When we talk about the possibility of crimes against humanity, we also have to look at northern Rakhine, where the Rohingya are not in camps. Eight hundred thousand of them live there, but they have restrictions of movement that prevent them from accessing livelihoods and making a living. That's also why a lot of people flee.

[Marwan Tabbara, Liberal, Kitchener South—Hespeler, ON]

I have an estimate of 120,000 Rohingyas who are in these camps. Would humanitarian assistance help alleviate their situation?

Also, you talked about unregistered Rohingyas. How can the international community help with alleviating and getting these Rohingyas registered?

[Chris Lewa]

What we start seeing now, after four years, is a little bit of donor fatigue, I think. That's part of the problem.

Also, wider conditions in the camps are not very good anymore, but it's also, of course, due to the fact that I think the international community was waiting to see what Aung San Suu Kyi would do, with the hope that these camps would not stay another four years. But that, of course, is very difficult to say.

Support for humanitarian assistance is, of course, absolutely necessary.

When I talked about unregistered refugees I was mostly referring to those outside the country, although when you're referring to the 120,000 IDPs in the camps inside Myanmar, there are also a number of them who are unregistered. But the main issue I was referring to is those who are unregistered outside the country, and therefore are not receiving any protection at all as refugees.

[Marwan Tabbara, Liberal, Kitchener South—Hespeler, ON]

There was a change in the government not too long ago. Has the situation of the Rohingyas changed at all? Has it been better, or has it become worse? Can you elaborate on that?

[Chris Lewa]

First of all, I should say that the election victory of the NLD and Aung San Suu Kyi in November has raised a lot of hope for the Rohingya, even though they had been excluded from the election and denied their voting rights for the first time in history during that November 2015 election. But so far, I cannot say that the situation has deteriorated. That's not the case, but it has also not improved. As I said, there have been a few very recent moves by the NLD that show that at least they are willingly addressing the situation. Now it's a matter of seeing how that's going to develop.

You may know that the NLD, for example, requested the international community not to use the term “Rohingya” and also not to use the term “Bengali”, which the previous government had been using all the time. Basically “Bengali” means “Bangladeshi” and implies that you are an outsider and that you should leave the country. Aung San Suu Kyi requested that this be done to try to defuse a bit of tension and to avoid, as she said, “emotive terms”. I think this move is quite reasonable, but, unfortunately, the reaction has not been that good because the Rohingya want to continue to be self identified as “Rohingya” and the Rakhine do not want to see even the Muslim community being called a “Muslim community” in the Rakhine State. They don't even accept that term; they want to call them “Bengalis”. So just with a term you can see how difficult it is to even address the problem.

So far in Rakhine State, the first step on the ground by the government of Aung San Suu Kyi has been through the committee I mentioned in my presentation. They have restarted what is called a “citizenship verification exercise”. Unfortunately, that also is not going very well because many Rohingya do not want to apply for this. First of all, they don't see why they should apply for citizenship when they consider that they used to be citizens anyway. Also, they want to see the word “Rohingya” put on the documents. At least Suu Kyi has removed “Bengali”, but you see that this discussion on terms is very deep inside Myanmar.

Just to finish, at the moment the Rohingya have refused to participate, and the Rakhine have also protested against it.

[The Chair, Liberal, Borys Wrzesnewskyj]

Thank you.

Ms. Rempel, you have seven minutes, and I understand that you will be sharing your time with Ms. Gallant.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Yes, thank you.

Mr. Boyd, when I was looking up information about your project and what you do, I saw that you operate an early warning system. Could you tell the committee a little bit about that and whether or not it was triggered in the case of the Yazidis, and how that worked and how it can help the international community?

[Drew Boyd]

We have two levels of early warning. One is our conflict-tracking system, which is similar to a lot of different tracking systems that other organizations have implemented. It focuses on the escalation of conflict on a global scale in line with the concepts of the escalation towards genocide. It is specifically tuned towards that. Unfortunately, I think one of the shortcomings of this global focus of early warning is that it is entirely too broad. It's very difficult to focus on every particular region and identify them. In that case, it was not tripped.

On a more localized level, for every project that we implement in all the regions where we operate, each has its own early-warning mechanisms that are much more well-tuned to the local conflict and can be set off a lot more easily, allowing us to make a quicker response. A lot of that is based on the infrastructure that we build, and the information and communications infrastructure that we build upon.

In terms of how this could be used for the larger international community, or the Government of Canada's efforts, I would say that certainly more localized initiatives should incorporate information, communications technology, early-warning components. They are very simple to implement, and with local knowledge and international expertise, you have a much greater likelihood of actually detecting and responding to events as they occur.