Call on the Prime Minister to increase Canada's contribution to the Syrian refugee crisis
- by: Amnesty International Canada
- recipient: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
In four years, the brutal conflict in Syria has produced over four million refugees. Most are in the neighbouring countries of Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan where resources are stretched beyond the breaking point. A growing number of refugees are faced with the impossible choice of remaining in desperate conditions in refugee camps or of making terrifying journeys and risking their lives to escape endless suffering.
Amnesty International is urging the incoming Canadian government to:
- introduce flexible measures, such as Temporary Resident Permits, for Syrians with family in Canada
- follow through on your election campaign promise to resettle a minimum of 25,000 Syrians through government sponsorship by the end of 2015
- facilitate private sponsorship of Syrians
- dramatically increase human, logistic and financial resources to improve processing
- convene a summit to plan medium and long term response
- maintain existing commitments to resettle other refugees
Over two thousand people have died crammed into trucks or overloaded ships en route to Europe in 2015. Some four thousands refugees were trapped when Macedonia closed its borders. Elsewhere thousands more are now being rounded up and detained.
To date, Canada's commitment to resettling refugees has been modest and processing rates painfully slow. In the face of this mounting crisis, it is time for Canada to act decisively and generously to open up places of safety for those fleeing conflict. It's a matter of life and death.
Call on the Prime Minister to increase Canada’s contribution to the Syrian refugee crisis! It's time for Canada to do more.
To: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau,
I am calling on the incoming government to make it a priority to urgently address the mounting Syrian refugee crisis. Immediate, concrete and generous steps must be made to significantly increase Canada’s contribution both to resettling refugees and international efforts to resolve the conflict and human rights crisis in Syria. At the same time, existing commitments to resettle other refugees must not be set aside.
I urgently call on you to:
- Follow through on your election campaign promise to resettle a minimum of 25,000 Syrians through government sponsorship by the end of 2015, and provide support for generous levels of private sponsorship of Syrian refugees.
- Speed up family reunification by lifting obstacles and providing flexible measures (such as Temporary Resident Permits) for Syrians with family in Canada.
- Dramatically increase human, logistic and financial resources to improve processing of applications.
- Intensify Canada's efforts to ensure more effective international action to resolve the conflict and human rights crisis in Syria, including increased humanitarian aid and pressing for a comprehensive arms embargo.
The new government should articulate a concrete policy which responds not only to the Syrian refugee crisis, but also responds to the need to protect the rights of refugees who arrive spontaneously and make refugee claims from within Canada.
I further urge you to support a national "summit" involving all levels of government as well as representatives of civil society to plan Canada’s resettlement response beyond the end of 2015, and to discuss how to mobilize and coordinate contributions from all sections of society.
[Your comment here]
Yours sincerely,
[Your name here]
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