Subcommittee on International Human Rights Committee on Dec. 8th, 2025

[The Chair, Liberal, Fayçal El-Khoury]

I call this meeting to order.

Welcome to meeting number eight of the House of Commons Subcommittee on International Human Rights of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development.

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the subcommittee is meeting to study internally and externally displaced people across the world.

Today's meeting is taking place in a hybrid format, pursuant to the Standing Orders. Members are participating in person and remotely using the Zoom application.

I would like to make a few comments for the benefit of the witnesses and members.

Please wait until I recognize you by name before speaking. For those participating by video conference, click on the microphone icon to activate your mic, and please mute yourself when you are not speaking. To those on Zoom, at the bottom of your screen, you can select the appropriate channels for interpretation: floor, English or French. Those in the room can use the earpiece and select the desired channel.

This is a reminder that all comments should be addressed through the chair.

Next Wednesday, December 10, is Human Rights Day. I want to personally thank my subcommittee colleagues for their hard work and dedication to improving the human condition.

Our work, done in co-operation with the witnesses we invite each week, is a reminder that even if borders and nationality structure our identity, security and prosperity, we are all human beings in search of dignity, respect and justice. We all have the same goals and needs and we all have more in common than the opposite.

Thank you.

I would now like to welcome the witnesses.

As an individual, we have Professor François Audet, director of Observatoire canadien sur les crises et l'action humanitaires, Université du Québec à Montréal. He is with us by video conference. Welcome.

We have Dr. Christina Clark-Kazak, professor, public and international affairs from the University of Ottawa.

From the Canadian Council for Refugees, we have Asma Faizi, president, by video conference, and Gauri Sreenivasan, co-executive director.

From the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, we have Tracey Maulfair, representative in Canada, and Azadeh Tamjeedi, senior legal adviser.

We are waiting for Ms. Liu. She will show up soon, hopefully.

Now I would like to give every one of you five minutes for introductory remarks. We will start with Professor François Audet.

You have the floor for five minutes. Please go ahead.

[François Audet, Director, Observatoire canadien sur les crises et l'action humanitaires, Université du Québec à Montréal, As an Individual]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Members of the committee, thank you for having me.

I am a professor at the Université du Québec à Montréal's School of Management, where I head up the Canadian observatory on humanitarian crises and aid.

My presentation is taken directly from a short brief that I previously submitted to this committee and that is based on six years of research that I have been conducting on the migrant crisis in the Central American region. This presentation has three objectives: to describe the main characteristics of the migration corridors in the Central American region, to analyze the criminal strategies used to exploit the vulnerability of migrants and to situate these dynamics in a broader geopolitical context in order to inform Canada's foreign policy.

The corridor stretching from the Darien region, the tropical area between Colombia and Panama, to Guatemala is now one of the most dangerous migration corridors in the world. It is characterized by extreme violence, increased criminal control and growing pressure on already highly vulnerable local communities. It is important to remember that this crisis extends far beyond the countries of Central America. Haiti, Colombia, Venezuela and Cuba are also contributing to an unprecedented regional displacement. These four countries alone account for between 60% and 70% of migrants in the region.

Furthermore, in 2024–25, the International Organization for Migration identified 177 nationalities in the Central American migration corridors. Personally, I have interviewed people from China, India, Africa, Afghanistan and just about everywhere in the world.

My field research shows four major realities that I would like to bring to your attention.

First, these corridors have become real criminal economies. Central America's migration corridors are transactional corridors. Migrants must pay for every stage of their journey. For example, they must pay for a taxi, for a customs officer and to bribe a police officer. Each of these steps is then recorded by criminal groups, sometimes referred to as maras, drug traffickers or other armed gangs. All of these groups use extortion as their main source of income. In some areas, the migration economy is more lucrative than the drug economy.

In this context, insecurity and violence have become the main drivers of displacement. Criminal groups are not content with simply controlling migration routes; they deliberately and actively provoke displacement to increase the number of people who can be exploited. For example, in slums and poorer urban areas, they commit extortion and acts of violence to provoke displacement and thus, unfortunately, exploit more people.

Second, violence is the main strategy used by these groups. This includes kidnapping, threats and, especially, sexual violence. For example, in 2023, Doctors Without Borders estimated that there was one reported case of sexual violence every three hours. Sexual violence is also sometimes used as payment for passage. More than 80% of women are victims of sexual violence during their journey.

Third, local communities, particularly in the poorest countries of Central America, are not prepared to receive these massive influxes of displaced people. Inflation, social tension and the saturation of social services are skyrocketing, particularly in Honduras and Guatemala. In addition, new American migration policies combined with the closure and even militarization of the U.S. border under President Trump are blocking certain corridors and forcing migrants to stay longer in local communities.

Finally, contrary to popular belief, economic development can, in certain contexts of violence, increase migration rather than reduce it. When crime is deeply rooted, productive investments, whether in infrastructure, trade or development aid projects, generate additional opportunities for extortion and strengthen criminal groups' territorial control.

[The Chair, Liberal, Fayçal El-Khoury]

You have 20 seconds left.

[François Audet]

Unfortunately, I won't have time to go into detail about my four recommendations, but I will just mention them briefly.

Canada should support research, strengthen human-rights-based approaches, support regional coordination efforts and tailor its aid so that it serves as a stabilization tool rather than fuel for the criminal economy.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Fayçal El-Khoury]

Thank you, Professor.

Now I would like to invite Dr. Christina Clark-Kazak. You have the floor for five minutes. Try to respect the time, please.

Thank you.

[Christina Clark-Kazak, Professor, Public and International Affairs, University of Ottawa, As an Individual]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I will make my remarks in English, but I can answer questions in French.

Thank you very much for the opportunity to appear today. I'll first give an overview of the situation of internally and externally displaced peoples globally. Then I'll focus in on what Canada can do to facilitate solutions.

In terms of the global overview, according to our colleagues here at the UN refugee agency, more than one in every 70 people globally is displaced. The root causes of this displacement include violence, conflict, human rights abuses, climate change and environmental disasters. Over 71% of people in forced migration are hosted in low-income and middle-income countries of the global south.

In terms of internally displaced people, they make up the largest percentage of people in forced migration globally—around 67.8 million. Because internally displaced people are citizens, they should benefit from the same legal rights and protections as any other citizen. However, some governments do not have the capacity or the political will to uphold these rights.

The guiding principles on internal displacement build on applicable human rights and humanitarian law. However, country visits by the UN special rapporteur regularly highlight human rights concerns. For example, Sudan has nearly 10 million internally displaced people who face severe risk of famine and grave human rights violations.

Other internally displaced people are trapped behind closed borders. For example, the majority of Gaza is under a displacement order, with 90% of the 2.1 million people displaced. Borders remain closed, preventing Gazans from fleeing the constant bombardment and preventing sufficient aid and medical support from reaching civilians.

I will turn now to external displacement. If a displaced person crosses an international border, they have the right to make an asylum claim under the 1951 UN refugee convention. By mid-2025, there were 8.4 million asylum seekers. However, states—including Canada—are increasingly limiting access to asylum through detention, push-backs, safe third country agreements and externalization policies. These policies, as Professor Audet elaborated, push people into more dangerous journeys and into precarious legal status. So far this year, over 1,000 people have died in the Mediterranean Sea. Despite draconian border enforcement policies and illegal deportations, the United States still has over 11 million undocumented people.

There is a growing tendency to grant temporary protection rather than permanent refugee status. For example, 4.3 million Ukrainians in Europe are under temporary protection. Most of the approximately 300,000 people who came to Canada under the Canada-Ukraine authorization for emergency travel must apply to extend their status because it was only granted for three years.

The UN agency estimates that there are 36.4 million refugees. Again, most of these are in the global south, and many of them are in protracted refugee situations awaiting a durable solution. However, rich countries like Canada are reducing resettlement pathways, including the current freeze on private sponsorship of groups of five.

We have some recommendations for this committee. The Government of Canada should take proactive measures to resolve these displacement issues. To address the root causes, we must first pursue diplomatic interventions to ensure that human rights are respected and to negotiate peaceful resolutions to conflict. Second, we need more bold climate change action to address environmental displacement, both in Canada and globally. Third, we need to ensure the corporate social responsibility of Canadian companies, such as mining companies in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo that are complicit in forced evictions.

In addressing the ongoing internal and external displacement and the manifestation of these displacements, the Government of Canada must first ensure sustained development and humanitarian assistance for people in situations of displacement, particularly in the context of the closure of USAID. The need is dire. Second, we need to increase our resettlement numbers and encourage international co-operation to find durable solutions to protracted displacement. Third, we need to abolish the safe third country agreement with the U.S. and reconsider Bill C-12, both of which severely restrict the right to asylum. Finally, where people are trapped behind closed borders, Canada must waive biometric requirements or co-operate with allies to facilitate paperwork.

Thank you for the opportunity to present. I will be pleased to answer your questions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Fayçal El-Khoury]

Thank you very much, professor.

That's perfect timing.

Now I would like to invite Madam Asma Faizi, who is appearing by video conference.

You have the floor for five minutes. Please go ahead.

[Asma Faizi, President, Canadian Council for Refugees]

Thank you.

The CCR is the national voice for more than 200 member agencies that work with, from and for refugee and immigrant communities across Canada. This perspective is critical in the current global context, where forcibly displaced populations around the world, both internally and externally, are growing due to recurring conflicts, political instability, persecution and climate change.

Analyses of displacement frequently focus on immediate triggers and short-term responses, with little attention to the underlying factors that drive people from their homes and to the role that countries like Canada are playing in driving those very forces. This narrow approach has too often justified increased securitization, interdiction, offshore processing, detention and border-focused policies aimed at preventing displaced persons from ever reaching safety.

A major concern for the CCR at this time of growing need is the declining commitment from many countries to refugees and to supporting internally displaced people. We are seeing a rise in authoritarianism, fascism, xenophobia and hate, whether in countries far away like Afghanistan where I am from, or with our neighbour to the south, which has completely suspended its resettlement programs and has now halted its internal system for offering asylum. In the face of global trends that are narrowing the scope of protection, we ask how Canada will respond.

The federal government came to power at a moment when Canadians felt vulnerable in the face of political and economic threats from the Trump administration. Our collective instinct then was to put our elbows up, to defend Canadian values and to forge our own path, yet today the signs are troubling. Canada is not stepping up; we are stepping back.

One of the clearest indicators of this backsliding is a precipitous drop in resettlement commitments with Canada's immigration levels. This year marks the 10th anniversary of Canada's welcome to Syrians fleeing conflict, a moment that galvanized the country and reminded the world of who we are. We are still that country, but we must stand up for those same principles. Instead, we are seeing steps in the opposite direction.

The sponsorship pathway for groups of five is frozen. The private sponsorship of refugees program is being slashed, despite being one of the most respected and effective programs in the world. Even government-assisted refugee numbers are being reduced. Refugees, particularly those in Africa, continue to face significant longer wait times than others, as highlighted in a recent CCR report, including the worrisome case of our inadequate response to the Sudan crisis, as mentioned by previous witnesses.

These decisions misread the capacity of Canadians. Canadians are ready to sponsor. They are waiting. The limitations are not public will; they are government policy.

Compounding these policy choices are the dangerous narratives that have taken over the past two years across all levels of government. These narratives wrongly blame current pressures on housing and social systems on immigration and refugees. This is not only false but also dangerous. It undermines public confidence in the immigration and refugee system, and it unfairly targets those who have always contributed to Canada's social and economic fabric.

We invite you, as members of Parliament, to help push back against these narratives. The CCR, together with over 100 partners, has launched a national public campaign, We're Better Together, to reignite public support for immigration and to remind us of who we are and who we can be. We urge the committee to recommend the need for a positive narrative from government because people in Canada expect our leaders to carry on our proud legacy of welcoming refugees.

I'll pass it on to Gauri now.

[The Chair, Liberal, Fayçal El-Khoury]

Madam Sreenivasan, you have the floor. You can have five minutes.

[Gauri Sreenivasan, Co-Executive Director, Canadian Council for Refugees]

Thank you very much, Asma.

I want to thank the members of the subcommittee for their commitment to addressing the subject of forced displacements in the world, a very important issue that also affects Canada.

I will focus my remarks on issues related to the rights of asylum seekers in Canada and the challenges they face.

Canada remains a beacon of hope for many of the forcibly displaced, and anyone who is at or within our borders has the right to seek asylum here. Let us remember, however, that Canada receives a tiny fraction, less than 2%, of asylum seekers worldwide.

We also have a world-respected system for hearing those claims. It is a system that is being denigrated by many recently, but when the facts are allowed to surface, the picture is quite clear: We have a robust and thorough asylum system, one that includes a substantive security check and one in which each case is assessed on its evidence at an independent tribunal at the Immigration and Refugee Board.

The vast majority of refugee claimants—80%, in this year—are found to be refugees in need of protection from persecution. Canadians can be proud of that. The system can always be improved, but it works well. It works for refugees and it works for Canadians.

Let us recall that the right to asylum and the right to due process are protected under our charter and under international law. These are rights that you or I would want upheld if our families were in danger.

I just want to flag two major concerns about how these rights for the forcibly displaced are in jeopardy now in Canada, through both the safe third country agreement, STCA, with the U.S. and through the current direction of Bill C-12, which is still before the House.

The STCA has been a long-standing element of the overall system for how Canada deals with asylum claims, which turns back most refugees if they cross from the U.S. on the grounds that the asylum system works well there. This has actually never been true for many refugees, because of deep problems with the U.S. system, as the CCR has long held, but the agreement now is absurd, members. The U.S. has completely suspended its asylum system, such as it was. Even people with status in the U.S. are being grabbed in unmarked cars. They are being held in detention. They are being deported to third countries or to their home country, where they may face danger or death. The rule of law has effectively gone out the window.

It is an uncomfortable truth for the Canadian government, but we cannot bury our heads in the sand.

As a country, already we are re-evaluating the Canada-U.S. relationship in a whole range of areas, including as a partner for trade and as a partner for defence. We must also re-evaluate the basis for partnership in matters of human rights and refugees. At this crucial moment in history, we need to defend and strengthen Canada's system for asylum protection in ways that are consistent with our values and consistent with international standards, and in a way that builds on the skills and institutions already in place in this country, rather than by copying other countries or creating wasteful duplicatory structures.

Unfortunately, it is the latter that is now reflected in Bill C-12. You are not tasked with this bill, so I will not make specific recommendations or go into the details here, but I do want to say for the record, at this very important committee for human rights, that the bill moves Canada away from human rights standards and norms of procedural fairness for asylum seekers. This includes, for example, the right to a hearing before being deported and the right to an appeal, because decision-makers make mistakes.

The CCR would hold that this bill will not survive a constitutional challenge as it is currently drafted, and we look forward to discussion of the bill in the Senate, where we expect it will go soon. We do hope that you, as a committee, can consider future opportunities to study essentially the human rights implications of new trends and directions in Canada's immigration and refugee system, because it is an approach that currently will see billions spent to shift us as a country towards a U.S.-style machinery, an ICE-style machinery, to remove vulnerable people in violation of their rights, instead of using a fraction of those resources to ensure due process for those seeking protection and setting refugees up for success as future Canadians.

We know we can do better, and we look forward to working with you on it.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Fayçal El-Khoury]

Thank you.

Now I would like to invite Madam Tracey Maulfair to take the floor for five minutes, please.

[Tracey Maulfair, Representative in Canada, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees]

I would like to begin by thanking you for your focus on the causes of displacement across the world and the potential solutions to them, particularly at the current time when discussions on these issues are far too few and divisions are far too many.

UNHCR works in 130 countries to respond to and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities and stateless people, and to help them find solutions. Currently, more than 117 million people have been forced to flee due to war, conflict and persecution worldwide. This is a massive figure. Really, it's about the same as the entire population of the Philippines. It is a figure that, for the first time in a decade, actually decreased in 2025.

One year ago, we saw the fall of the Assad regime in Syria. Since then, one million people living as refugees have returned home from abroad, and a further two million displaced people within the country have returned to their homes to restart their lives, yet Syria remains a country shattered by war.

Hope is fragile. For families to return, they will need safety, a way to earn an income and schools for their children, which are things we take for granted here. However, there is an important point to underline in this, and that's the reason I'm talking about Syria. When it's safe, returning is the preferred option for most refugees. Finding peaceful solutions to conflict will always be the best way to ease the displacement challenges we are facing and to stop people from moving.

Unfortunately, Syria remains a bright spot in the world. As war and violence continue to drive displacement, cuts to life-saving aid are making everything worse. Consider what's happening in Sudan right now; the largest displacement crisis in the world. More than 12 million people have been forced to flee. Over four million people are living in neighbouring countries as refugees. Recently, El Fasher, in the Darfur region, faced 500 days under siege before falling to the Rapid Support Forces, triggering a brutal wave of violence.

Neighbouring countries like Chad generously opened their borders and offered safety to those forced to flee. However, the services available are not able to meet the needs. Many of those arriving are deeply traumatized, and not even basic assistance is available, let alone health and psychosocial support services for women and girls who have faced unspeakable violence. This situation is not unique to Chad.

Humanitarian workers are doing what we can, but we are stretched thin, worldwide. In the past year, UNHCR's global budget decreased by 25%, forcing us to make extremely difficult choices, ending critical life-saving programs. As a result, 11.6 million people are not getting the help they need. When people are left without life-saving aid or opportunities, the risks they face multiply.

When displacement spreads, it weakens fragile states. Left unchecked, these crises spill across borders and drive migration, and they disrupt trade and investment opportunities. This mean more children are recruited into armed groups, and they fall victim to sexual exploitation and human smuggling. The solution is not to point the blame at those forced to flee. Rather, the more assistance frontline neighbouring countries receive, the better able they are to host refugees, reducing the likelihood of dangerous onward movements.

Investing in humanitarian aid is a practical, cost-effective contribution to regional and global security. Canada's support of UNHCR makes a measurable difference, enabling us to deliver frontline, life-saving support and solutions where few others can. For decades, through successive governments, we have relied on Canada's leadership and support in helping refugees worldwide. Your country sets an important example and serves as a model to other nations. As you consider the challenges of displacement in this difficult moment, we need Canada to continue to be an advocate for peace.

It is also imperative that this committee recognize the vital role of humanitarian funding to provide safety for people forced to flee, prevent further displacement and support people to go back home when they're ready.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Fayçal El-Khoury]

I thank all of you for your introductions. Now I would like to start the first round of questions and answers.

I would like to invite Mr. Shuvaloy to take the floor for seven minutes, please.

[Shuv Majumdar, Conservative, Calgary Heritage, AB]

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you to all our witnesses for providing their perspectives and testimony on a very difficult topic that is obviously gripping the world over. The displacement of people internally and internationally has caused national systems and international systems to breach in many ways, when overrun with issues of integration, failure, successful vertical mobility for people who come into the country and asylum measures that have become discordant in various jurisdictions. All of you did a wonderful job of describing some of those issues.

Having spent some time in Afghanistan myself and watching that crisis unfurl with the disastrous decision made by the Biden administration of withdrawal, we see several consequences for how Afghans have had to deal with their own displacement internally and in the region.

Madam Faizi, what can you share about the internal Afghan displacement that has unfurled over the last years since 2021?

[Asma Faizi]

The situation that Afghanistan is in right now is not a culmination of what has happened since 2021 but a culmination of almost half a century of conflict, violence, lack of human rights protection, climate change and natural disasters.

Unfortunately for Afghanistan, not only human-made but also natural disasters have caused the state in which the Afghan people are right now, and that state is very dire. Unfortunately, the focus from Afghanistan shifted to other regions of the world, and people don't realize that Afghanistan is still undergoing an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe.

The situation internally is very bad. The economy has collapsed. The infrastructure—both health care and education—is on the brink. Then, in addition to this, I think one of the very concerning things that is happening inside Afghanistan right now is the forced deportation of Afghans from Pakistan and Iran in particular, but also from other regions of the world, potentially including the U.S. They are deporting Afghans forcibly back into Afghanistan.

In the past year, the statistics or the numbers are that close to 1.2 million people have been forced back into Afghanistan. You can imagine the dire situation Afghanistan was in at the beginning, and then, on top of it, there is this additional pressure coming from these people who have been forcibly deported back into Afghanistan.

It's really important for the Canadian government to pay attention to what is going on in Afghanistan. I think that at other times people have not paid attention, and negative outcomes have grown and have come out of that. We really hope that the Canadian government takes more seriously what's going on inside Afghanistan.

[Shuv Majumdar, Conservative, Calgary Heritage, AB]

Thank you for that.

You raise so many important issues here. I wanted to pick up on one.

For Afghans who are inside that country today, I'm grateful that we have an opportunity to platform this and give them a voice through you. What kinds of options do they have to escape into neighbouring countries? Are there any safe options? Obviously, they live in a very dangerous neighbourhood, with hostile regimes that, at the expense of the Afghan people, keep extending their own interests for hegemony and instability.

Could you give us a sense from your perspective on the people you talk to in Afghanistan? Whether it's crossing east, west or north, what options do Afghans really have internally to leave their country?

[Asma Faizi]

The options are not that many, especially now with these forced deportations. Previously, people could go to Pakistan, to Tajikistan or to Iran for safety. However, in the past year or year and a half, the political instability—the relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan and between Afghanistan and Iran—and also many of the issues that most of the presenters here have spoken about, including the policies of externalization, deportations and keeping people away from seeking safety, have really closed the doors on many Afghans.

I personally get calls all the time from people who want to come to Canada, who want to leave Afghanistan, but there really are no options because, again, those who are able to make it to Pakistan—and, similarly, Tajikistan or Turkey—are afraid of being deported back. The options have really decreased. Unfortunately, Canada is contributing to this. This is because one of the pathways for a lot of Afghans who have family members back home was the groups of five private sponsorship program. That has been halted. Also, the private sponsorship of refugees program has been severely slashed for the next year. There are fewer and fewer opportunities for people who are in severe need, and it's very concerning—what's going on in the U.S. and how it has targeted all Afghans.

Again, it's not only inside Afghanistan; Afghans are suffering all over the world.

[Shuv Majumdar, Conservative, Calgary Heritage, AB]

We have a couple of minutes left, so I want to drill further into this.

With regard to the Afghan borders, many of Afghanistan's neighbours think they're pliable, particularly the eastern border. There are many stories that you've definitely heard. These include former colleagues of mine, people I think of very fondly and very closely, who have had to make a very difficult journey from as far west as Herat or as far north as Badakhshan into Pakistan—in some cases, even by foot.

Meanwhile, conflict has broken out on that border. Much of the Pakistani military is wreaking havoc inside Afghanistan itself. With regard to that particular local situation, which always feels like it's very precarious, I'd be curious for your perspective on what can be done to try to bring calm in those relationships so that the people who are being impacted by this can find a way to have some stability to try to begin rebuilding their lives.

[The Chair, Liberal, Fayçal El-Khoury]

Give a quick answer, please.

[Asma Faizi]

It's really important for the international community to come—particularly to Muslim countries around the world—to bring these parties together to come up with a resolution. Unfortunately, every time there's a conflict between Afghanistan and Pakistan, the people who suffer the most are the civilians, particularly refugees. One of the largest refugee populations in the world is in Pakistan, so they take it out on those people. It's incredibly unfortunate. It's really important for diplomatic efforts to be put in place to ensure that there is some kind of resolution to these issues. Otherwise, it's going to be yet another conflict inside Afghanistan or involving Afghanistan, unfortunately.

Women and children are disproportionately impacted, at the end of the day.

[The Chair, Liberal, Fayçal El-Khoury]

Thank you.

I'd like to invite Madam Dhillon to take the floor for seven minutes, please.

[Anju Dhillon, Liberal, Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I'll start my questions with Mrs. Faizi.

In your testimony, you were speaking about resettlement, and one of the things you said, which is very interesting and very concerning because we've been seeing it more and more over the past couple of years.... You spoke about dangerous narratives taking place, like blaming refugees and immigrants for a lack of housing and resources.

Why do you think this is? Can you elaborate a little bit on that, please?

[Asma Faizi]

Well, unfortunately, I think that when times get tough, usually the immigrants and refugees are scapegoated for a lot of problems that are occurring.

In Canada, the problems in terms of housing and social systems cannot be attributed to refugees and immigrants. These are more systemic and structural problems that need to be addressed. Some of the problems include high rent and stagnant wages. These underlying systemic issues need to be dealt with to ensure that refugees and immigrants are not blamed or scapegoated for a lack of attention to these kinds of policies by our governments.

[Anju Dhillon, Liberal, Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle, QC]

Thank you so much.

Ms. Clark-Kazak, you were talking a little bit about the number of refugees being in the millions. Have you noticed a larger displacement, internal or external, in the past years?

[Christina Clark-Kazak]

As our UNHCR colleagues mentioned, in terms of refugees, the number has gone down a little bit because of the resolution, or partial resolution, of what's happening in Syria. In terms of internal displacement, we still have large numbers of people. I think a lot of the international focus is on refugees because they cross international borders, but in fact more people are internally displaced. The problem with internal displacement is that their own national governments are supposed to be taking care of them, because they're citizens, but often the governments themselves are the source of insecurity or are unable to provide that kind of human rights protection.