CIMM – FC CF6B International Engagement And Partnership On Afghan Resettlement – February 8, 2023

Implicated Recommendations:

Recommendation #16 (GAC lead) – Engage with neighbouring countries on safe passage
Recommendation #33 – Evacuation flights for Afghans in third countries

Key Messages

• Canada’s sustained diplomatic engagement and cooperation with partners in the region and like-minded countries has enabled us to achieve significant progress on Canada’s commitment to resettle at least 40,000 Afghan nationals.
• Canada is also working very closely with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), who are providing critical expertise and operational support to help us bring Afghans to Canada as quickly as possible.
• We continue to pursue opportunities with international partners to support all aspects of our response to the crisis, including support for safe passage out of Afghanistan.

Supplementary Messages

United States (U.S.)

• We have had particularly close cooperation with the U.S. government since the beginning of the crisis.
• Under a Letter of Cooperation with the U.S., Canada has committed to resettling 6,000 vulnerable Afghans in Canada since the beginning of the crisis.
• [Redacted]

United Arab Emirates (U.A.E) (#16)

• In August 2022, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) with support from the U.S. and the U.A.E resettled approximately 1,000 vulnerable Afghan nationals who had been residing in the Emirates Humanitarian City since they were evacuated from Afghanistan during the 2021 crisis.

Pakistan (#16)

• Thousands of Afghan clients have been resettled in Canada through Pakistan over the past year. In addition to commercial flights, Canada has welcomed 22 charter flights for Afghan clients from Pakistan, since October 2021.
• IRCC is aware of the media stories regarding detention and deportation of Afghans from Pakistan.
• There are no reports of IRCC clients being impacted at this time. The Government of Canada, including the High Commission in Islamabad, continues to monitor the situation very closely and is in touch with the Government of Pakistan regularly.

Tajikistan (#16)

• Over the past year Canada has worked with the Government of Tajikistan to resettle thousands of Afghans. IRCC organized 16 charters from Tajikistan for Afghan refugees since December 2021.
• Responsive: Canada took the reports of deportations of Afghans from Tajikistan this past fall very seriously, and our head of mission (based in Kazakhstan) worked with our [Redacted]. and [Redacted] along with the [Redacted], to register our concern with the Government of Tajikistan. Although deportations are reported to have stopped, Canada is monitoring the situation closely.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

• Canada is closely engaged with the UNHCR on how best to support vulnerable Afghans. We appreciate its broad experience and ability to provide important insight on the situation on the ground in Afghanistan, as well as the protection situation of Afghan refugees in countries of asylum in the region.
• UNHCR is also referring vulnerable Afghans for resettlement, which brings with it the added value of their expert assessments alongside support for exit permission with host governments, where appropriate.

International Organization for Migration

• IOM is a long-standing global delivery partner for Canada’s resettlement program.
• IOM is providing direct support and services, including pre-departure assistance, immigration medical exams, and transportation logistics for our Afghan clients in Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkey and other countries in the region (outside Afghanistan).