Amnesty International, as well as The Canadian Counsel for Refugees (CCR), has voiced their collective concern over the real-world implications regarding the Canada/US "Safe-Third Country Agreement". The human rights advocacy groups believe that procedures initiated through this legislation may in effect obstruct valid refugee claimants from gaining access to Canada's refugee determination system.

Since the Treaty's introduction, the Canadian land border has been effectively closed to most refugees. In fact, the number of people claiming refugee status in Canada since the Act was instated is lower than at any time since the mid-1980s. The Canadian Government has been accused of turning a "blind eye" by not monitoring the ways in which the Agreement undermines the fundamental civil liberties of refugees.

"We cannot stand by and see the government close the door on refugees, on the pretext that the United States can be relied on to protect them," said Liz McWeeny, president of The

CCR

. Her organization, along with Amnesty International, has moved to challenge the courts over the Agreement. They believe that the legislation is in breach of international law, as well as Canada's own Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

They argue that the US criteria for a "safe-third country" do not meet international standards against Torture and the Refugee Convention. Consequently, Canada is violating its own international obligations towards refugees by returning potential claimants to the US for refugee determination. They are asking the Federal Court of Canada to reconsider the designation of the United States as a safe-third country.

"There have been ongoing concerns that the US falls short of meeting its international obligations with respect to the protection of refugees and since the Agreement took effect one year ago (2004), new provisions in the United States have resulted in a continuing erosion of refugee rights," said Gloria Nafziger, Refugee Coordinator at Amnesty International.

Backgrounder:

The Safe-Third Country Agreement, in part, is an effort to "homogenize" immigration law while strengthening bilateral security between Canada and its southern neighbor post 9-11. The law essentially designates the U.S. as a "safe-third country". What this means is that refugee claimants trying to enter Canada through the United States are no longer eligible to apply for refugee status in Canada.