Expedite Afghan refugee processing

AI summary

Petitioners ask the Government of Canada to urgently expedite processing and increase capacity for Afghan refugee and humanitarian applications from Pakistan and to grant temporary protection to prevent deportation while cases are reviewed.

AI summaries describe petitioners’ requests and claims. Consult the official record for the full text.

Official petition

Petition to the Government of Canada Since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, Afghans who supported education, women’s rights, civil society, and community development face heightened risk of persecution because of their lawful and peaceful activities; Additionally, Afghans who belong to an ethnic minority and/or who are not Sunni Muslims face a well-founded risk of persecution if returned to Afghanistan and are at risk in Afghanistan of arbitrary arrest, detention, torture, and other forms of serious mistreatment on account of their ethnicity and/or religion; Many of these individuals and their families fled to Pakistan and are awaiting resettlement to Canada through humanitarian and refugee pathways; Afghan refugees in Pakistan increasingly face detention, loss of legal status, and deportation to Afghanistan, where they may face retaliation or imprisonment; and Canada has committed to protecting vulnerable Afghans. We, the undersigned, citizens or residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to: 1. Urgently expedite refugee and humanitarian applications for at-risk Afghans in Pakistan; 2. Implement temporary protection measures to prevent deportation while applications are under review; and 3. Increase processing capacity for Afghan cases in Pakistan to reduce dangerous delays.

Government response

No government response is available yet.