CCR

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UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees

• CCR
• Edmonton, 24 May 2007
• Mr Vincent Cochetel
  
• Department of International Protection
• UNHCR, Geneva

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• I- Basic Facts about UNHCR and Resettlement
  Activities
• II- Canadas contribution to Resettlement
  Activities
• III- Global Trends Challenges for UNHCR

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Who are the 20.8 million people falling under
competence UNHCRs competence?
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Refugee population 8.4 millionsDistribution by
area in June 2006
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Durable Solutions for Refugees

• Facilitation/Promotion of Voluntary
  Repatriation
• Facilitation/Promotion of Local Integration
• Promotion of Resettlement

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The objectives of Resettlement

• To save/rescue individuals/families with specific
  protection needs
• To activate this durable solution in absence or
  in parallel with other durable solutions
• As an element of burden/responsibility-sharing
• To create protection dividends for refugees who
  are not going to be resettled

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Resettlement Submissions

• Submissions by dossier
• Submission during selection missions

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RESETTLEMENT COUNTRIES

• (current resettlement activities)
  81,730
• USA 50,000
• CANADA 12,000
• AUSTRALIA 13,000
• (9) EUROPEAN COUNTRIES 5,550
• NEW ZEALAND 750
• (5) LATIN AMERICA COUNTRIES 430

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• Total needs for resettlement in 2007
• 53,100 refugees (individual submissions)
• 24,000 refugees (submissions of groups)
• Total 77,100 refugees
• 0.9 of the refugees world population
• UNHCR ESTIMATE CAPACITY AS REGARDS
• SUBMISSIONS
• Approximately 50,000 refugees

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Canadas contribution to Resettlement Activities

• One of the big three resettlement countries in
  the world
• A resettlement programme sensitive to protection
  concerns/priorities (e.g. Palestinian refugees in
  Jordan)
• Canadas significant support to several
  resettlement/protection-related programmes

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• A refugee resettlement program usefully
  complemented by the Private Sponsorship Program
  (PSR)
• Canadas readiness to use resettlement for
  protracted refugee situations (e.g. Bhutanese
  refugees in Nepal or Eritrean refugees in Sudan)
• Canadas commitment to use resettlement in a
  strategic manner (i.e. protection dividends
  arising out of resettlement activities) (e.g.
  support to MPA)

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• Consistent public support
• Strong involvement of NGOs, volunteers and
  local/central authorities
• Improved predictability in referrals in 2005-2006

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Global trends

• Impact of new anti-terrorist legislation
  (admission, security screening, delays in
  departure)
• Excessive use of a criteria of local integration
  potential by certain countries of resettlement
• Increase in the emergency resettlement requests
  because of the deterioration of the situation in
  certain countries of first asylum

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• Difficulties for resettlement countries of
  considering various groups in many countries of
  first asylum and temptation to turn to a mode of
  selection by group, with the risk of limiting
  geographical diversity in in-take.
• Effective access employment market in several
  countries of resettlement

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Challenges for Canadas Resettlement Programme

• Ensure better synergies between the
  Government-Assisted Refugee Resettlement program
  and a strategic use of the Private Sponsorship
  Program
• Pilot the use of dossier places and/or interviews
  by remote

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• Improve and shorten the length of security
  screening by CBSA
• Build upon group resettlement experiences
• Improve the functioning / responsiveness of the
  UPP

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Enhance the role of NGOs

• in needs identification process
• in case preparation and referrals to UNHCR
• in verification exercises (group processing)
• in cultural orientation/language/literacy
  courses in countries of asylum

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Challenges for UNHCR

• To improve planning, predictability, coherence in
  the resettlement submissions
• To make the resettlement accessible
• to larger number of refugees,
• from more countries of first asylum
• and towards a broader number of countries of
  resettlement

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• to promote the implementation of durable
  solutions strategies in particular for the
  protracted situations
• Implementation of the conclusion No. 105 of the
  UNHCR Executive Committee on women-at-risk
• to document country-by-country benefit resulting
  from a strategic use of the resettlement
• to give a human face to the resettlement
  activities as effective way to combat xenophobia
  and to promote this solution

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• To promote harmonized approaches for refugees in
  order to ensure equitable access to this
  solution and to reduce secondary movements
• To establish temporary transit facilities for
  refugees having an immediate need for evacuation
• To broaden the base of resettlement countries in
  Europe and Latin America

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• To draw lessons from the group resettlement and
  other forms of simplification of procedures
• To encourage the harmonization of the programs of
  cultural orientation before the departure to
  resettlement countries
• To roll-out UNHCR resettlement anti-fraud program

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• To collect and disseminate best practices
• To further engage NGOs in the promotion of
  resettlement activities