e-4415 (Citizenship and immigration)

The Government of Canada is deeply troubled by the current security situation in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), particularly in the province of Ituri. Canada is closely monitoring the security situation and human rights violations perpetrated against all civilians, including the Hema people. The promotion and protection of human rights, peace and security, and the rule of law remain fundamental elements of Canadian foreign policy. Canada regularly expresses its concerns with governments and organizations in the region, including the United Nations.

Through its substantial humanitarian assistance to the DRC, Canada supports trusted partners, international organizations and non-governmental organizations that provide vital assistance to meet the needs of vulnerable and conflict-affected populations. Canada is committed to helping vulnerable populations through its international assistance to the DRC, which totalled $168.3 million in 2021-22, making the DRC Canada’s fifth largest recipient of international assistance. Canada’s initiatives aim to uphold the rights of women and girls, promote their sexual and reproductive health rights, and address sexual and gender-based violence. Canada also supports child protection and education for women and girls living in fragile, crisis and conflict-affected settings. This response targets the most vulnerable regardless of their social or religious affiliation.

In 2022, Canada also allocated more than $46 million to the DRC as part of its annual humanitarian funding process. The funding included $1 million to help the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) defend the rights of refugees living in the DRC and meet their immediate needs. Canada’s funding is not earmarked, allowing the UNHCR to prioritize the most urgent needs based on their own assessments.

At the request of the UN, Canada has been deploying a team of up to 25 Canadian police officers since 2021, primarily to Goma in the eastern DRC, to support the DRC and the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO). As part of the Canadian mission, a specialized police team (SPT) on sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) supports the Congolese National Police through training on best practices in investigating SGBV cases and bringing cases to justice. The SPT also offers mentoring and awareness-raising sessions in communities to promote the reporting of SGBV to the authorities.

Canada intends to continue its engagement with the Congolese authorities, the United Nations, the international community, and civil society, to promote a rules-based international order, human rights, democracy, peace and security, and to prevent and effectively address corruption.

Canada will continue to reaffirm its support for regional dialogue mechanisms, such as the Nairobi and Luanda peace processes, to put an end to violence in the region. The Government of Canada will continue to closely monitor the situation regarding ethnic violence in the DRC and the Great Lakes region.

The Government of Canada takes the protection of human rights seriously and is concerned with the violence that has affected civilians, including Hema civilians in the Ituri province of the Democratic Republic of Congo. We condemn the attacks against these communities and offer our condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims.

Internationally, the protection of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) is the responsibility of the state in which they reside. The Government of Canada supports IDPs through humanitarian assistance programming, particularly through development programs. In Canada, a legal framework enabling the systematic and ongoing resettlement of IDPs does not presently exist under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA).

Canada has been a signatory to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (Convention) and its 1967 Protocol since 1969. The 1951 Convention is a key international agreement that is foundational to Canada’s humanitarian responsibility to refugee protection, and is also central to work of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR). The 1951 Convention establishes the internationally recognized definition of a refugee, and outlines the legal protection, rights and supports refugees are entitled to. Canada’s continued international efforts in support of these agreements has positioned it as a leader in providing resettlement options for refugees with the purpose of protecting those seeking asylum and supporting integration.

Canada’s Resettlement Program is aligned with international practices on refugee protection. By definition, in international and domestic law, a refugee must be outside of their country of nationality. Refugees have been forced to flee their homes and have crossed an international border to find safety in another country and are unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin for reasons of being persecuted by reason of race, religion, nationality or membership of a particular group or political opinion.

Canada works very closely with the UNHCR to identify refugees around the world and, from this caseload, give priority to resettling to Canada those who are the most vulnerable and at risk, mainly through the Government-AssistedRefugees Program. The UNHCR also has the ability to refer a small number of individuals through Canada’s Urgent Protection Program. This program is for those who, if not protected, are likely to be: killed, subjected to violence, torture, sexual assault, arbitrary imprisonment or returned to their country of former nationality or former residence. The Government of Canada acknowledges that these are very difficult decisions to make, given the threatening circumstances many around the world sadly live in, and that millions of refugees are forced to wait each year for durable solutions.

Refugees can also be resettled to Canada by a group of people or an organization through the Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program. Private sponsors can identify and sponsor individuals through the program who either meet the Convention Refugee Abroad Class requirements or the Country of Asylum Class requirements as set out in the IRPAand the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, whereby a person must be outside of their home country or a country they would normally live, and have a well-founded fear of persecution or have been seriously affected by civil war or armed conflict, or have been denied basic human rights on an ongoing basis.

Canada is committed to maintaining its humanitarian tradition with respect to the Convention refugees and to affirming its commitment to international efforts to assist those in need of protection and resettlement. This includes continuing its efforts in resettling refugees from Africa, including Uganda, and monitoring the situation faced by Hema refugees. Canada also recognizes the imperative to respect the human rights of all refugees and asylum-seekers. The protection and promotion of human rights domestically and abroad is a priority for Canada and the facilitation of refugee resettlement will continue.