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A woman sits with her child inside a tent at a refugee camp near Diyarbakir, Turkey, on Jan. 9. Canada will resettle up to 5,000 displaced Iraqi and Iranian refugees currently in Turkey to help the country better accommodate the influx of people fleeing neighbouring Syria. (STR/AFP/Getty Images)
Canada will resettle up to 5,000 displaced Iraqi and Iranian refugees currently in Turkey by 2018 in a bid to help the country better accommodate the influx of people fleeing neighbouring Syria, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney has announced.
“With escalating violence in the region, more people are seeking protection in Turkey, and our commitment to resettle 5,000 mostly Iraqi and Iranian refugees in Canada will help Turkey deal with this growing pressure,” Kenney said in a statement Tuesday.
Kenney said the refugees will be relocated by 2018, and will help Canada get closer to its 2009 and 2010 pledges to resettle up to 20,000 Iraqi refugees in need of protection.
The move represents the first time Canada has made a specific multi-year commitment to resettling refugees out of Turkey.
About 12,000 Iraqi refugees in Turkey initially fled to Syria to escape violence, only to be displaced a second time when civil war broke out in Syria. Iranians are also among the estimated 150,000 refugees in Turkey that have fled fighting in Syria, many originally fleeing Iran due to political and religious persecution.
The move represents the first time Canada has made a specific multi-year commitment to resettling refugees out of Turkey.
“We recognize that sheltering such an immense refugee population creates pressures on domestic resources and we commend the Government of Turkey for keeping her borders open to those fleeing the ongoing conflict in the region,” said Kenney.
Canada is one of few countries to operate a resettlement program out of Turkey; only the United States takes more refugees.
Kenney, who is currently visiting Turkey, also announced that the Canadian International Development Agency is contributing an additional $1.5 million to help to ensure that essential emergency relief items are provided to vulnerable people at the Turkish-Syrian border, as well as maintain contingency stocks.
This brings Canada’s contribution to $23.5 million in humanitarian assistance for Syrians to date.
Ongoing violence has caused mass displacement within Syria, with thousands fleeing to neighbouring countries. The number of Syrians currently hosted in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, and Iraq now exceeds half a million, the majority women and children, according to Kenney’s statement.
Tensions in Syria escalated this week with the announcement that President Bashar al Assad will not step down ahead of scheduled 2014 elections, and will also run for president again—leaving anti-government forces, who have vowed to accept nothing less than Assad’s resignation, with little hope that a political settlement can be reached.
In the latest attacks, two explosions struck the main university in the northern city of Aleppo on Tuesday, on the first day of exams. The blast caused dozens of student and civilian casualties, many whom had sought refuge at the campus from other areas of the embattled city.
ICC call not Supported by Canada
Meanwhile, the Canadian government is being taken to task by World Federalist Movement Canada for failing to support a call to refer the serious crimes committed by the Assad regime to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The World Federalist Movement–Institute for Global Policy (WFM-IGP) is an international organization that works in partnership with the United Nations, governments, and institutions to advance global peace, rule of law, and democracy.
The organization is criticizing Canada for not supporting a letter initiated by the Swiss Ambassador to the UN, and sent on behalf of 57 states, which called on the UN Security Council to refer the situation in Syria to the ICC.
Syria is not a signatory to the treaty that established the international court, so the ICC can only obtain jurisdiction over crimes in Syria if the Security Council refers the situation there to the court.
“Canada’s failure to support the Swiss initiative calls into question this government’s commitment to the rule of law in Syria,” said Fergus Watt, executive director of WFM Canada.
“An ICC referral is important not only to bring a measure of accountability for the serious crimes that have been committed in Syria. An ICC referral also contributes to the rebuilding of the rule of law that will be so essential to a peaceful settlement, if Syria is to avoid protracted civil war.”
Countries supporting the Swiss initiative include all European Union governments except Sweden, as well as states from all the world’s main regional groups.
The Security Council has been deadlocked on Syria for nearly two years. Russia and China have used their veto powers to block three resolutions condemning violations in Syria.
Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, has called on numerous occasions over the last two years for the Security Council to refer the situation in Syria to the ICC.
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