CIMM Committee Related Document

30 September 2016

Dear Mr. Wrzesnewskyj,

Thank you again for the invitation to appear before the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration on 18 July 2016. During my opening remarks, I had offered to write to you following my appearance regarding any technical questions concerning specific vulnerable populations under review by the special study on your Committee of "Immigration Measures for the Protection of Vulnerable Groups". As such, I am offering the following additional information concerning the situation of vulnerable populations covered by UNHCR's operations in Iraq and Turkey. This reflects information on UNHCR's activities at this time, but is not meant to prejudice any current or future activities to protect or assist particular vulnerable populations. I also hope to address some of the concerns raised by subsequent witnesses concerning the response to forcefully displaced Yazidis.

Approximately 1.5 million people out of the total 3.4 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) in Iraq were reported as having been displaced as a result of the events on Mount Sinjar in August 2014, with around 1.4 million fleeing to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KR-1). UNHCR is part of the humanitarian response to the Iraqi IDP population focusing on the provision of protection, shelter, non-food items and camp management. The current situation in many parts of the country has led to new large scale IDP movements, mostly out of ISIS-held territories. Most of the IDPs in Iraq live among the host community and only some 10% are accommodated in IDP camps.

In the KR-I, UNHCR is also operating a refugee resettlement program for Syrian refugees Major refugee resettlement countries are the USA, Sweden, United Kingdom and Australia. In country processing for the resettlement of IDPs has been organized by some countries, particularly the USA, Germany and France. UNHCR is not officially involved in this activity as, in general, UNHCR only supports resettlement of refugees, who are by definition outside their country of origin, but it provides technical support when requested.

If Canada were to resettle IDPs from Northern Iraq, we would ask that such resettlement be in addition to and not be at the expense of the spaces allocated for refugees in need of this solution and would encourage that such a programme be based on vulnerability and protection needs and not exclusively religious or ethnic affiliation.

Following my appearance before the Committee, some of the subsequent witnesses commented on UNHCR's IDP operations in Iraq and its refugee operations in neighbouring countries notably Turkey. One area of misunderstanding concerned potential delays linked to UNHCR Turkey's automatic generation of dates for refugee status determination which can be scheduled for years in to the future from the date the appointment is issued. In reality, the actual waiting period is usually shorter as the scheduling backlog is influenced by a number of external factors linked to the number of persons who do not appear for interviews, fail to also register with Turkish officials and/or fail to reside in the assigned place of mandatory residence in Turkey.

Under Turkish legislation, it is only registration with the authorities that gives access to protection and essential services by conferring the status of international protection applicant. Individuals applying for international protection in accordance with asylum and immigration legislation have access to a range of rights as a result of their status as international protection applicants, which include access to health, education, documentation, legal stay and work. While the implementation of such provisions in the law may be challenging in some locations for a variety of reasons, the rights do exist and are exercised in many instances.

It is also important to underline that in Turkey there is a national procedure which applies to all those who register with the authorities. UNHCR conducts refugee status determination for resettlement on the basis of acute vulnerability and special needs as assessed by its protection staff and partners. Still, registration with the authorities is a precondition. UNHCR cannot process cases which have not completed their registration with the Turkish authorities in compliance with national legislation.

UNHCR Turkey has introduced diversified processing methodologies to accelerate fact­ finding and decision making, especially for Iraqi asylum seekers where the majority of the applicants are manifestly in need of protection. In addition, UNHCR also identifies and prioritizes vulnerable applicants through protection screening.

Nevertheless, the delays in refugee determination and resettlement referrals reflect a larger challenge relating to the size of the overall refugee population and the number of available resettlement places, recognizing that resettlement is a voluntary activity of states. As of this month there are 3,009,090 refugees in Turkey (2,728,726 Syrians and 280,364 other nationalities including Iraqis). UNHCR Turkey has referred so far this year 20,335 refugees for resettlement consideration to various countries.

Concerning the specific situation of displaced Yazidis and their access to protection solutions, there is the additional challenge that a large proportion of the Yazidis are residing in the south-eastern provinces of Turkey, have been hosted in municipal camps and have not been willing to register with the provincial authorities as international protection applicants. As I have already noted, registration with the Turkish authorities is a precondition for their case to be processed for refugee status determination and possible subsequent resettlement. For those Yazidis in Iraq who are internally displaced, UNHCR is providing technical assistance to visiting selection mission but is not pursing resettlement for such persons as already explained.

I noted with concern the testimony of some of the witnesses before the Committee alleging discrimination by UNHCR staff in the course of their work. In all of its humanitarian programs, including resettlement, UNHCR prioritizes those most vulnerable and at risk, without making distinctions on the basis of nationality, race, gender, religious belief, class or political opinion. Such prioritization naturally results in programming that addresses the protection and assistance needs of victims of attacks and abuses on ethnic or religious grounds.

UNHCR has a code of conduct by which staff are expected to adhere. Discrimination on religious or other grounds constitutes an abuse of authority that is considered misconduct for United Nations staff. Individuals who believe they have been discriminated against can make a complaint to the UNHCR Inspector General's Office, which safeguards the confidentiality of the person making a complaint. If anyone is aware of specific misconduct, they can contact UNHCR's Inspector General's Office, inspector@unhcr.org.

I hope this information is helpful to the Committee in its study of "Immigration Measures for the Protection of Vulnerable Groups". I and my colleagues are available if you would seek any further clarification on these or any other matter.

Sincerely,

Michael Casasola
Resettlement Officer