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UN agency hails Canada's pledge to take another 25,000 Syria refugees

Xinhua, November 11, 2015 Adjust font size:

The UN refugee agency UNHCR on Tuesday welcomed the announcement by the Canadian government to take in a further group of 25,000 Syrian refugees through humanitarian admission programs by the end of 2015.

In a statement issued Tuesday, the UNHCR said it would work with Canadian immigration authorities to allow for the quick identification of vulnerable Syrians sojourned in the Middle East, particularly in Lebanon and Jordan, and facilitate their move to Canada.

According to the UNHCR, Syrian refugees moving to Canada under the scheme would initially receive a temporary residence permit, to be replaced by permanent residence status after processing in Canada, and be eligible to apply for citizenship in four years.

"This is a huge gesture of solidarity with the Syrian people and the countries neighbouring Syria which together are hosting more than four million refugees and bearing the brunt of this crisis," said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres.

Guterres also urged other countries to follow Canada's lead, galvanize their resources, and dramatically increase their acceptance of Syrians who are able to rebuild their lives in safe countries so as to not have to take perilous journeys like those across the Mediterranean Sea of late.

The latest announcement is in addition to Canada's earlier pledge to receive 10,000 Syrian refugees before September 2016, following UNHCR's conference to work out resettlement and other forms of humanitarian admission in December 2014. The total number of places for Syrians under these schemes in some 30 countries now stands at 155,408.

"Too many vulnerable refugees are languishing in countries neighbouring Syria, caught in a downward spiral of poverty and risk as they struggle to meet their basic needs. We need many more ambitious programs like this to offer Syrians a chance to start their lives anew," Guterres added.

According to the UNHCR, 10 percent of the 4.1 million registered refugees in countries neighbouring Syria are vulnerable and in need of resettlement or humanitarian admission to a third country. Endit