What’s In A Name: Identity Documents and Convention Refugees

There is an entire class of marginalized people living in Canada today: United Nations Convention refugees who do not have travel documents, passports or other official documents to prove their identity to the Canadian government, and who on that basis alone are denied permanent resident status. The government says there are 13,000 undocumented Convention refugees living in “legal limbo” in Canada today. These refugees have already demonstrated that they face persecution if returned to their home countries. Yet Canada denies them the opportunity to settle here permanently and be reunited with their loved ones simply because they do not have the required documents. Their legal limbo status contravenes Canada’s obligations under several international human rights laws. There are two major ways to address this problem. The first is to rescind the identity document requirement for landing and eliminate the Undocumented Convention Refugee in Canada Class. An alternative is to reduce the waiting period for landed status for undocumented Convention refugees to three years from date of arrival, and allow dependants to be brought to Canada during the waiting period.

ISBN – 1-894159-40-3