Refugees and the "Security" Agenda
“Today’s security strategies suffer from an overdeveloped military response to collective security threats and an underdeveloped human security response.” -- United Nations Development Programme. Human Development Report 2005
Since 9-11, the language and politics of security has worked to reinforce racism and restrict rights, especially for newcomers to Canada. Asylum seekers and refugees are particularly affected.
Like other industrialized countries, Canada introduced new immigration restrictions after the 9-11 attacks:
* When Canada signed the Safe Third Country Agreement with the US, it virtually closed its land border to asylum seekers. Asylum claims at the border have dropped 50% since this agreement came into force in 2004.
* New funding for enforcement post 9-11 placed asylum seekers at greater risk of detention. One year after 9-11, detention numbers had grown 41% from 1997 levels.
Other, more subtle effects, have also made themselves felt. Refugee sponsors are reporting longer processing delays, often attributed to vaguely defined concerns on “security grounds.” Processing delays prolong the risk for vulnerable refugees in conflict zones and extend the agony of waiting to be reunited with family members already in Canada.
While restrictive migration polices existed well before 9-11, the subsequent fear of “terrorism” has fostered a climate in which restrictive migration polices meet little resistance.
KAIROS has developed a series of resources to support Canadians in rethinking security policies and reaffirming an attitude of welcome towards refugees and other newcomers.
* Welcoming Uprooted Peoples Post 9-11. A study and action guide for people of faith and the wider community. (PDF format)
* Rethinking Security: A plain language pamphlet that questions current approaches to security and reaffirms human rights. (PDF format)
* Canadian Security: Security for all of us. A four page policy brief focusing on the Safe Third Country Agreement and its impact on asylum seekers. (PDF format)
* Globalization, Security and Exclusion. (PDF format) A research paper that traces the link between economic globalization and growing immigration restrictions. The paper argues that security justifications for migration controls since 9-11 obscure the economic motivations for such controls, which function to maintain the increasing divide between rich and poor, both across and within international borders. Web published by the Centre for Refugee Studies, York University.
* Rethinking Security: Refuge, Power and Privilege. (PDF format) A discussion paper that explores the multiple impacts of the security agenda on the movement of refugees and other vulnerable people.
KAIROS has also endorsed the People’s Commission on Immigration Security Measures. The People’s Commission held public hearings in Montreal during the spring of 2006 on issues related to the security certificate process and other security measures under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, detention, deportation and torture. To read the final report and recommendations, as well as individual submissions, go to the Commission website: http://www.peoplescommission.org
