letter from the editor Why UNHCR’s presence in Canada is important
Michael Casasola, a veteran resettlement officer for UNHCR, reflects on the agency’s role and Canada’s response to the refugee crisis:
UNHCR has a unique mandate, which balances a humanitarian response to the millions of refugees forced to leave their homes and a protection mandate, including the respect for the refugees’ rights and the option, for the most vulnerable among them, of being resettled to another country, such as Canada. Sometimes I get asked, ‘Why is UNHCR concerned about refugees in Canada, after all this is Canada, a very rich country with a relatively small refugee population?’ But the point of our presence is that a refugee is a refugee, regardless of where they are. Although the numbers of refugees are relatively small, they are the evidence of the generous contribution that Canada is able to offer to people fleeing war and violence. Tis testimony of international solidarity is important as it reflects an international model of responsibility-sharing and other countries around the world would take notice of that and follow suit. UNHCR has expertise in assisting countries operating resettlement programs and we believe that this role is very important and better played with a presence within the country of resettlement.
Te difficulty now is that the global refugee problem is much more protracted and refugee camps can remain open for decades. Tere are new emergencies all the time in Syria, Ukraine, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic,
Sudan and South Sudan, for example, and we have to deal with that also in terms of offering resettlement places for the people who have no other solution to their refugee situation. Tese are large movements of people and the problem is that political solutions need to be found so that refugees can return to their own countries. Protection, including resettlement, is becoming increasingly more important and its positive impact on the lives of the refugees cannot be overstated. Never before has the need been so great—the world has given us this responsibility and we need the world, including Canada, to support us.
I feel this is one of the most important issues of our time and I think people want to be a part of the response. I want to be the person who says there was a Syrian emergency and I helped people to rebuild their lives. We can look back on the Indochinese who came to Canada, it was very hard, but thanks to the strength of character of these individuals and the generosity of our country, things have turned out very well. Future groups of refugees owe a debt of gratitude to the Indochinese as they showed what is possible and the promise of Canada. If we can do it for them, we can do it for others. «
© UNHCR/ S. Baldwin 2014 UNHCR / 27
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