Behind Closed Doors
"You are the first person who has treated me as a human being." This is the type of comment that Glynis Williams, director of Action Réfugiés Montréal (ARM) often hears from people detained at the Immigration Prevention Centre in Laval, Québec.
Glynis and the volunteers at ARM, who make weekly visits to the Centre, describe surveillance cameras, entry searches with metal detectors, chain link fences topped by razor wire, and detainees routinely handcuffed. These are the conditions that many people from around the world - uprooted from their communities, fleeing violence, persecution, and poverty, and seeking safety in Canada - are subjected to before a decision is made about whether they can apply to stay in Canada.
For over ten years, ARM has worked to protect the rights of detained refugees and 'non-citizens.' Concerned with the lack of external monitoring mechanisms that leave these detainees vulnerable to unjust treatment throughout the immigration process, ARM monitors the conditions of their detention, provides information on immigration and refugee law, secures legal aid, raises public awareness, and advocates for people's rights. Increasingly important is assisting detainees to obtain identity documents and prepare for their refugee hearings. While the UN High Commission for Refugees states that detention of refugees and asylum-seekers is to be avoided, recent data revealed that over half of the people in the Laval centre were refugees.
The majority of people detained in Laval do not speak either official language, and many suffer from medical and/or psychological problems, often the result of the experiences that caused them to flee to Canada. People who are deemed 'uncooperative' are placed in isolation cells, or transferred to regular prisons and held with convicted criminals.
Detention of migrants is not a new phenomenon in Canada, but it has taken on a new character in recent years. Since September 2001, many countries have introduced anti-terrorism legislation that undermines democratic freedoms and the rule of law, including the Anti-Terrorism Action (Bill C-36) in Canada. In this new global security climate, measures aimed at containing and controlling the movements of people across borders has intensified, and non-citizens are increasingly experiencing arbitrary detention, mistreatment, and weakened protection.
In December 2002, Canada and the United States signed the Safe Third Country Agreement, which asserts that refugees should claim protection in the first 'safe' country they reach. This has had a major impact on the number of refugee claims, as Canada can deny entry to claimants who arrive via the U.S., and vice versa. Since this agreement was implemented, the number of people seeking asylum in Canada has dropped by 40% and, while fewer people are able to reach or stay on Canadian soil, a greater number of those who do arrive are more likely to be detained.
The staff and volunteers of ARM are inspired by the people they meet during their visits to the Laval detention center, and are determined to protect their rights. In 2005, ARM made presentations to the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration and to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention to raise their concerns.
For ARM, basic human dignity and the fundamental right to liberty is at the core of their support to detainees behind the closed doors of the Laval detention centre, and at the heart of their policy advocacy. Inter Pares is privileged to support this critical work.
Defending Civil Liberties
The International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group (ICLMG) is a coalition of 37 Canadian organizations that monitors government policies and practices which undermine civil liberties, human rights, and refugee and immigrant protection. The ICLMG has challenged Canada's security legislation, the harmonization of Canadian security and immigration policies with the United States, the practice of covert data-sharing, the suspension of due process, the erosion of privacy, and the lack of transparency and political accountability in the use of security measures. The ICLMG monitors and publicizes practices by state security agencies that contravene the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, other Canadian laws and international human rights standards, including the use of security certificates and secret trials to deport landed immigrants, refugees, and migrant workers. In addition, ICLMG intervenes in individual cases where there have been violations of civil liberties and human rights. Participating in these actions within the ICLMG, Inter Pares hopes to promote a society rooted not in fear but on respect for fundamental rights and the rule of law.
| Reviewed May 17, 2006 |  |
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