Inter-American Commission hears complaint on Canada’s treatment of asylum-seekers

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights will be holding a hearing Monday 17 October in Washington D.C. on a petition against Canada by refugee advocates. The petition argues that, following a change of policy in January 2003, Canada has been violating asylum seekers’ rights by summarily directing them back to the United States without a hearing. This has resulted in some asylum seekers being detained in the US and deported, without their ever being able to have their refugee claim heard in Canada. The petition raises many of the rights issues also engaged by the safe third country agreement that came into effect in December 2004.

The hearing, which is not open to the media, will be held at 2:30pm on 17 October at the IACHR, 1889 F Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. The petitioners are the Canadian Council for Refugees, Vermont Refugee Assistance, Amnesty International Canada, Freedom House (Detroit, MI), Global Justice Center, Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinic and Harvard Law School Advocates for Human Rights.

The petition is available at http://www.web.ca/~ccr/IACHRpet.PDF