Canadian Forces: United Nations High Commissioner For Refugees

Federal Court Dept: In the case of the Afghan interpreter, the conclusion that he was not in danger is incomprehensible and was made in the face of compelling evidence to the contrary. Anyone who has been following events in Afghanistan is aware that the government s hold on power is tenuous and that it cannot even protect members of the government from the Taliban, according to The Star. But what is more distressing is that this case is not an isolated one. Earlier this year the Federal Court overturned a large number of cases where refugees who had applied for protection at the Canadian Embassy in Cairo had been refused visas. The cases involved people who had fled from Eritrea who had applied for protection in Canada. Although they had been found to be refugees by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the Canadian immigration officer rejected their applications concluding that there was no evidence they would be at risk and the recent stories in the Toronto Star about the refusal of a visa to the Afghan interpreter who had worked with the Canadian Forces are deeply disturbing. Unfortunately, this story is far from unique: every year many people who apply for protection at visa offices abroad are wrongly refused even though there is strong evidence that they would be at risk of persecution or serious harm. The fact that the interpreter had been identified as someone who had worked with Canadian Forces would undoubtedly expose him to a grave risk of reprisals. That the officer could come to the contrary conclusion and deny him the visa only demonstrates that the system for determining who can obtain protection abroad is deeply flawed. One might suspect that there is more to this story perhaps he is being punished for having spoken out earlier about the delays in processing his application. If such political considerations can come into play, then this would further undermine public confidence in the overseas procedures used to decide which refugees get protection in Canada. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.