Citizenship and Immigration committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, honourable members of the committee, ladies and gentlemen, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, or UNHCR, welcomes the opportunity to comment before the committee on Bill C-31, the Protecting Canada's Immigration Syste

Citizenship and Immigration committee  According to international standards, detention in the asylum process is permissible. This is regulated by ExCom 44 of the executive committee. As you know, the executive committee is the governing body of UNHCR, which approves the budget of the organization, and also issues conc

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Absolutely.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Yes.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Well, surely UNHCR would not support, let's say, a rush to a lowest common denominator. We are saying that there are international standards and we'll try to encourage and urge all governments to apply those standards, which have been set by the international community and by the

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I don't think I'm going to go into the analysis of countries, because this would really go beyond my capacity at this moment. I would like to repeat that the standards are there, and UNHCR puts the same emphasis for every country in which we advocate the compliance with interna

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I can also add something in that respect, because Canada already has good experience with alternatives to detention. You know that with the Toronto bail program there is a very high rate of compliance, more than 90% compliance, so this is considered a well-run program, cost-effec

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I will answer in English, if I may. It's very clear that UNHCR does not oppose a list of designated countries of origin. However, it must be understood that the DCO list is a procedural tool. It's not a process, only a procedural tool. We are putting too much emphasis and focus

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Faux réfugiés you would translate as “bogus refugees”, in English? That is a terminology that actually, I have to say, does not exist. It's a contradiction in terms. If you are a refugee, it means you are recognized as a refugee at the end of a process for which, by definition,

Citizenship and Immigration committee  What is very important in terms of solutions is that the solutions are durable, are permanent. In the international protection of refugees, there are three solutions, as you know: the voluntary repatriation to your country of origin, the legal integration in the country of asylum

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I would say that designation in itself is not a problem, because sometimes designation can help in certain processes. What the problem is here is the effect of designation, of course, and the impact of designation into refugee rights that are acquired. So I would say that what we

Citizenship and Immigration committee  From the general international UN point of view, I want to say that there is, as you probably very well know, the 2000 United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime, which is very important in this particular field. There are three protocols to which Canada is p

Citizenship and Immigration committee  There are several clauses of non-discrimination in various international human rights instruments: article 3 of the 1951 convention and articles 9 and 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The issue is the differential treatment upon designation. That's

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Umm—

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Well, the short reply would be no, but I'm trying to understand your question. We recognize—