OTTAWA – In response to today’s announcement by U.S. President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency’s Representative to Canada, Rema Jamous Imseis said:
“UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is aware of changes announced that could have a significant impact on asylum in Canada. While UNHCR has not been a party to these discussions, we look forward to reviewing the details with the Government of Canada in the coming days.
UNHCR acknowledges that the U.S. and Canada are facing significant challenges associated with the scale of arrivals of asylum seekers and migrants at their borders and urges all governments to keep in mind their obligation to provide haven to those fleeing conflict, violence or persecution.
As always, UNHCR remains ready to offer technical expertise to governments in helping find solutions to any challenges in maintaining an asylum system that is safe, fair and humane.”
For more information on this topic, please contact:
- In Ottawa, Levon Sevunts, sevunts@unhcr.org, +1-613-286-6975
