CBSA says 19 people who failed to claim refugee status were sent back to Afghanistan last year

Canadian border guards returned 19 Afghans to Afghanistan with failed refugee claims in 2023, even as the federal government continued to condemn the human rights record of the Taliban regime that came to power more than three years ago.

The Canada Border Services Agency told CBC News that none of the Afghans who left last year had their cases rejected due to safety or security risks. CBSA will not disclose any further information, citing privacy and confidentiality concerns.

For the same reason, CBSA did not say how many of the 19 were women.

The deportations occurred despite the federal Temporary Suspension of Deportation order, or TSR, which has been in effect for Afghan citizens since 1994.

TSR refers to “the suspension of transfers to a country or location where general conditions, such as armed conflict or environmental disaster, pose a risk to the entire civilian population,” the agency said.

It also stated that people deemed unacceptable “for reasons of criminality, serious criminality, international or human rights violations, organized crime or security” could be dismissed despite the TSR.

The CBSA said the 19 people whose refugee claims were unsuccessful left Canada “voluntarily” but did not initially explain what that term meant.

In a message later sent to CBC News, “voluntarily” meant that Afghans “were aware that they were benefiting from deportation deferrals due to the Temporary Suspension of Deportations in Afghanistan but requested that their deportation orders be enforced despite the repeal of the law.” was stated.

“In other words, the individual was told he or she could remain in Canada until the TSR was removed, and the individual chose to return to Afghanistan.”

Citing an increasingly dangerous and oppressive atmosphere for women and girls in Afghanistan, a UN expert recently called on Canada to grant refugee status to all Afghan female refugees currently in Canada.

“Canada should match other gender-sensitive countries by granting refugee status to all Afghan women and girls refugees on its territory, given the widespread gender persecution they faced under the Taliban,” said Richard Bennett, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan. he said in the press release he published after his working visit here last month.

In an interview aired Sunday on CBC. Rosemary Barton LiveBennett said he believes there is interest in the idea in other parts of the world.

“I was just introducing what was going on in Europe for Canada to consider,” she said, “especially given that Canada has a feminist foreign policy.”

Taliban in late October issued an edict banning women and girls from praying together or reciting verses from the Quran in the same room, effectively banning them from going to mosques.

Taliban already existed Women were banned from attending higher education and girls were banned from secondary school.

“In fact, I think it’s appalling, even disgusting, that women in particular have been completely erased from society, that they can’t get an education after the sixth grade. This is the first, only, only country in the world where this is the case,” Bennett said.

Immigration experts question the moves

The CBSA also said it had removed 953 unsuccessful Afghan applicants since 2014, of which only 82 were sent to Afghanistan and the rest to unnamed third countries.

It was stated that of the 82 people sent to Afghanistan, only five were deemed inadmissible for safety or security reasons and that these people “did not benefit from the Temporary Postponement of Repatriations”. It was stated that the other 77 people left “voluntarily”.

It was stated that 25 of the 82 people expelled since 2014 were women. The agency did not break down its figures by gender from year to year, again citing privacy considerations.

Two immigration lawyers and a consultant question the move.

“It is difficult to imagine any Afghan returning voluntarily, without being forced, without fleeing, due to circumstances such as economic hardship, family pressure or lack of opportunities to stay in Canada or settle elsewhere,” said Waheed Jalalzada, a Toronto-based immigration consultant. He specializes in Afghan cases.

Immigration lawyer Aidan Simardone said a “voluntary” departure could involve someone who fails an exam and is allowed to leave for a certain number of days before being put on a plane.

“Receiving that letter can sound pretty scary and some people say, ‘Oh no, I don’t want to get in trouble, of course I’ll leave Canada,'” he said.

Simardone said he was disturbed by the number of women among those repatriated to Afghanistan since 2014.

“You would be shocked to find that even though the facts are so clear (about the danger women face in Afghanistan), refugee claims can still be rejected,” she said.

Arghavan Gerami, an Ottawa-based immigration lawyer, said the CBSA could be a little more forthcoming about information but still respect privacy laws.

“It would be helpful for them to call and explain, because privacy and the veil of confidentiality is sometimes a way of not answering questions,” he said.

All three said the number of people sent to third countries was remarkable.

“For them, going (to a third country) would be an unattractive and probably unsafe option,” Gerami said, adding that if they were non-refugee claimants in Canada, they would likely not be able to find shelter there. The first country they went to after leaving Afghanistan.

“The high reliance on third-country deportations raises important questions about the adequacy of protection for those deported to other jurisdictions,” Jalalzada said. “I think this approach shifts responsibility rather than providing meaningful safety.”

Government undecided on general refugee status

Immigration Minister Marc Miller’s office said in a statement to the press that it has not yet decided on granting universal refugee status to all Afghan women and girls in Canada.

“We will not speculate on future decisions,” a spokesman said.

The ministry also noted that Canada has hosted approximately 54,000 Afghans since Kabul fell to the Taliban, exceeding its commitment to bring in 40,000 in 2021.

It also stated that asylum seekers “will be subject to an independent and fair assessment of the individual merits of their claims before the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board.”