unsettling refugee resettlement

363 Pages·2012·1.91 MB·English

AT LAW’S BORDER:
UNSETTLING REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT

by

SHAUNA LABMAN

B.A. (Honours) The University of British Columbia, 1999
LL.B. University of Victoria, 2003
LL.M. The University of British Columbia, 2007

A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

in

THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES

(LAW)

THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
(VANCOUVER)

December 2012

© Shauna Labman, 2012
ABSTRACT
This dissertation looks at the development and operation of the Canadian refugee
resettlement program. It queries how law influences the non-legal act of resettlement and
conversely how resettlement contorts the law of asylum. Refugee resettlement is a
voluntary act by states in which they bring refugees to their territories who have fled
elsewhere but who have not received adequate protection. The voluntary nature of
resettlement is in contrast to the legal obligation of non-refoulement that states take on with
the promise not to send back refugees who reach their territory and claim asylum.

Canada is one of the three leading resettlement countries in the world. It has a long-
standing resettlement program and employs diverse and creative resettlement models. It is
also a program in political and legal flux. Each Canadian resettlement model – government-
assisted, private sponsorship, source country, and group processing – is the basis for an
analysis of the intersection of rights, responsibility and obligation in the absence of a legal
scheme for refugee resettlement. This analysis is supported by an examination of the
historical development of the international refugee regime and the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugee’s challenge in fulfilling a mandate tenuously connected to
human rights and comprised of both legal obligations and voluntary burden-sharing. A
comparative review of the programs in Australia and the United States, which lead in
global resettlement alongside Canada, is undertaken to point out and contrast respective
differences, weaknesses, and strengths. This analysis shows how differing models affect the
law’s place and influence.

With these frameworks, the dissertation offers a comprehensive picture and examination of
resettlement in Canada, and contributes to a holistic understanding of international
resettlement. Beyond this, the project explores the law’s influence on refugees, from
outside of the law, and what this does to their access to protection. Refugee law is
approached not from the border or at the point of an asylum claim, but further afield in the
operation of the non-legal act of resettlement. Thus the project moves past traditional
conceptions of law to consider the multitude of legal influences in both refugee law and
policy.

ii
PREFACE
This work was pursued under the supervision of Dr. Catherine Dauvergne.

An earlier version of parts of Chapter Two were published in Shauna Labman, “Looking
Back, Moving Forward: The History and Future of Refugee Protection” (2010) Chicago
Kent Journal of International and Comparative Law; online:
<http://www.kentlaw.edu/jicl/spring2010.html>.
An earlier version of parts of Chapter Three were published in Shauna Labman, “Queue the
Rhetoric: Refugees, Resettlement and Reform” (2011) 62 University of New Brunswick
Law Journal 55.
All research was conducted in compliance with the Behavioural Research Ethics Review
Board at the University of British Columbia. Certificate Number H08-02233.
iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT...........................................................................................................................ii

PREFACE...........................................................................................................................iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS....................................................................................................iv

LIST OF TABLES..............................................................................................................vii

LIST OF FIGURES..........................................................................................................viii

LIST OF ACRONYMS.......................................................................................................ix

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS................................................................................................xi

DEDICATION..................................................................................................................xiii

CHAPTER ONE: AT LAW’S BORDER...........................................................................1

Introduction.......................................................................................................................1

The Legal Periphery.........................................................................................................6

Canada at the Forefront...................................................................................................8

Bringing Law into Resettlement....................................................................................11

Beyond Traditional Concepts of Law...........................................................................19

Conclusion.......................................................................................................................29

CHAPTER TWO: INTERNATIONAL RIGHTS AND BURDENS.............................31

Introduction.....................................................................................................................31

The Refugee Regime and Resettlement’s History........................................................36

Pre-1950 Refugee Regimes..........................................................................................37

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees................................................41

Reorienting Protection...................................................................................................44

Lessons Learned...........................................................................................................48

An Uncomfortable Union: Human Rights and Refugees.............................................52

Bearing and Sharing the Burden...................................................................................57

Global Leadership..........................................................................................................72

Where the Law Is............................................................................................................77

Conclusion.......................................................................................................................82

CHAPTER THREE: CANADA’S COMMITMENT......................................................84

Introduction.....................................................................................................................84

Canada’s Humanitarian Commitment.........................................................................85

Background & Beginnings.............................................................................................87

Humanitarianism and Half-Open Doors.......................................................................87

A New Era: Asylum’s Ascendance..............................................................................98

Boatloads and Backdoors: Resettlement’s Return......................................................102

Canada’s Resettlement Scheme...................................................................................106

Just Numbers..............................................................................................................109

Legislative and Policy Framework.............................................................................110

Jurisprudence: Opportunities for Review..................................................................121

Where the Law Is..........................................................................................................134

Conclusion.....................................................................................................................140

iv
CHAPTER FOUR: COMPLEMENTARY OR CONSUMING? PRIVATE
SPONSORSHIP................................................................................................................141

Introduction...................................................................................................................141

Private Sponsorship in Canada...................................................................................142

Before the Law............................................................................................................143

The Sponsorship Scheme............................................................................................146

The Public-Private Pull................................................................................................151

The Indochinese..........................................................................................................152

After Indochina - Reining in Family Reunification....................................................159

Private-Public Partnerships.........................................................................................166

The Kosovars: Best Known and Least Accurate........................................................172

Present Realities............................................................................................................175

Refusal Rates and Protection Concerns......................................................................175

Family Reunification as Sponsorship.........................................................................177

Complaint and Review...............................................................................................179

From Complementary to Consuming.........................................................................182

The State of Sponsorship..............................................................................................184

Where the Law Is..........................................................................................................189

Conclusion.....................................................................................................................194

CHAPTER FIVE: BEYOND THE CONVENTION.....................................................196

Introduction...................................................................................................................196

Source Country Resettlement......................................................................................197

Going to the Source....................................................................................................199

Colombia.....................................................................................................................211

Group Resettlement......................................................................................................217

Where the Law Is..........................................................................................................228

Conclusion.....................................................................................................................234

CHAPTER SIX: FURTHER AFIELD: AUSTRALIA AND THE UNITED STATES
............................................................................................................................................235

Introduction...................................................................................................................235

Government Resettlement............................................................................................237

The United States........................................................................................................237

Australia......................................................................................................................246

Private Sponsorship......................................................................................................254

The United States........................................................................................................254

Australia......................................................................................................................258

Source Country Resettlement......................................................................................262

The United States........................................................................................................262

Australia......................................................................................................................266

Group Resettlement......................................................................................................266

Comparative Counterpoints........................................................................................269

Where the Law Is..........................................................................................................271

Conclusion.....................................................................................................................274

v
CHAPTER SEVEN: UNSETTLING REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT.......................279

Law Distilled, Resettlement Unsettled........................................................................279

Chapter by Chapter Review........................................................................................281

Law in the Fields Beyond.............................................................................................286

Recommendations.........................................................................................................291

Recommendation 1: End Divisive Discourse.............................................................292

Recommendation 2: Better Align Resettlement and Refugee Status.........................293

Recommendation 3: Limit Discretionary Decision-Making......................................295

Recommendation 4: Reinforce Joint Assistance Sponsorship and Formalize Pilot
Projects.......................................................................................................................295

Recommendation 5: Connect Private Sponsorship and Government Assisted
Resettlement...............................................................................................................297

Recommendation 6: Clarify Place of Family Reunification.......................................298

Recommendation 7: Re-establish Some Level of IDP Protection..............................299

Recommendation 8: Encourage International Cooperation........................................300

Open Doors....................................................................................................................301

BIBLIOGRAPHY.............................................................................................................304

Interviews & Correspondence.....................................................................................304

International Documents..............................................................................................305

Bills, Legislation, Regulations & Rules.......................................................................306

Jurisprudence................................................................................................................308

Primary & Secondary Sources....................................................................................308

APPENDICES...................................................................................................................338

Appendix A: Organizations and Individuals Interviewed........................................338

Appendix B: Federal Court of Canada Resettlement Cases by Year......................340

Appendix C: Federal Court of Canada Resettlement Cases by Result...................343

Appendix D: Federal Court of Canada Resettlement Cases by Visa Application
Country..........................................................................................................................346

Appendix E: Federal Court of Canada Resettlement Cases Identified as
Sponsorship...................................................................................................................349

vi
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: UNHCR Resettlement Data 2007-2011...................................................................9

Table 2: 1951 Convention State Parties 1951-1968.............................................................92

Table 3: Government-Assisted/Private Sponsorship Ranges & Landings 2001-2012.......107

Table 4: Private Sponsorship Ranges & Landings 1979-2012...........................................164

Table 5: Designated Source Countries by Year 1997-2010...............................................201

Table 6: Humanitarian & Compassionate Applications Outside Canada 2002-2010........209

Table 7: Top Ten UNHCR Resettlement Departures by Country of Resettlement 2010-2011
....................................................................................................................................236

Table 8: U.S. Refugee Ceilings & Admissions 2002-2012................................................239

Table 9: Australia Offshore Admissions 1999-2009..........................................................260

vii
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: UNHCR Logo.......................................................................................................58

viii
LIST OF ACRONYMS
ATCR Annual Tripartite Consultations on Resettlement
AWR Women-at-Risk
CCCRR Canadian Christian Council for the Resettlement of Refugees
CCR Canadian Council for Refugees
CG Constituent Group
CIC Citizenship and Immigration Canada
CPA Comprehensive Plan of Action
DIAC Department of Immigration and Citizenship
DIMIA Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous
Affairs
ERF European Refugee Fund
ECOSOC United Nations Economic and Social Council
EU European Union
EXCOM Executive Committee (UNHCR)
GAR Government Assisted Refugees
GNP Gross National Product
H&C Humanitarian and Compassionate Grounds
ICGs Interest-Convergence Groups
IGCR Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees
ICRC International Committee of the Red Cross
IDP Internally Displaced Persons
IFHP Interim Federal Health Program
ILO International Labour Organization
INA Immigration and Nationality Act
IRO International Refugee Organization
IRPA Immigration and Refugee Protection Act
ISSBC Immigrant Services Society of British Columbia
JAS Joint Assistance Sponsorship
JIAS Jewish Immigrant Aid Services of Canada
LGBTQ Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer/Questioning
MFU Multilateral Framework of Understandings on Resettlement
MIIC Manitoba Interfaith Immigration Council
NGO Non Governmental Organization
PSR Private Sponsorship of Refugees
RCOA Refugee Council of Australia
RMAF Results-Based Management and Accountability Framework
RRF Resettlement Registration Form
RSTP Refugee Sponsorship Training Program
SAC Special Assistance Category
SAH Sponsorship Agreement Holder
SHP Special Humanitarian Program
SIPA School of International and Public Affairs (Columbia University)
UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
UNRRA United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Agency
UPP Urgent Protection Program
ix
US United States
Volag Voluntary Agency

x