Media Release – the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers (CARL) supports a legal challenge to declare the Safe Third Country Agreement unlawful

For Immediate Release – October 30, 2019

On November 4, 2019, the Federal Court will hear weeklong arguments in a challenge to the
STCA. Public interest groups and individuals have come together to demonstrate that the STCA is 
contrary to Canadian law and violates the equality and fundamental justice provisions in sections 
15 and 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers is alarmed by the ongoing human rights violations for 
asylum seekers in the USA. CARL believes that the agreement between Canada and the USA that 
prevents vulnerable people from seeking refuge in Canada is unlawful.

The Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) bars people from entering Canada to seek protection. Unless 
a person meets very limited exceptions, a border officer must turn someone back to the USA, where 
they will likely be detained.

Since the STCA was implemented in 2004, the situation for refugees in the USA has deteriorated. 
Now, the U.S has limited asylum for women fleeing domestic violence to only exceptional cases. 
Those who still can seek asylum often do so from a detention facility, where they are deprived of 
the ability to have a fair hearing. These conditions place people at risk of refoulement being sent 
back to their home country to face renewed harm – without ever having a proper assessment of their 
risk.

The extensive evidence before the Federal Court is unequivocal. The USA fails to comply with its 
international human rights obligations and the asylum system subjects vulnerable people to a risk 
of being sent home to face persecution.

“Refugees seeking protection in the USA face one human rights violation after another” says Maureen 
Silcoff, President of CARL. “Caging children and separating families violate basic human rights. 
Unfortunately, these types of violations for asylum seekers have become the norm, not the 
exception.”

“People who fear torture or even death in their home country need access to a fair asylum system, 
one that respects human rights and international law” says Aris Daghighian, member of CARL’s 
executive. “Imagine having been detained and tortured back home because of your political views, or 
your sexual orientation, and then preparing for your asylum case and testifying from a detention 
centre wearing prison garb.”

CARL underscores the importance of securing the human rights for people seeking protection and 
believes that the STCA unlawfully removes those rights.

Media Inquiries

Maureen Silcoff: 416-322-1480  msilcoff@silcoffshacter.com
Aris Daghighian: 416-863-5457  ArisD@gands.com