By Neil
Armstrong
 |
| Debbie Douglas, Executive Director of the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI). Photo contributed |
The Board
of Directors of the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI) is
calling on Chrystia Freeland, Minister of Foreign Affairs, to develop a robust
and comprehensive Canadian response to the enslavement and trafficking of
African women, men and children in Libya.
It also
wants the government to act quickly to end the enslavement of African migrants
and ensure their future protection.
OCASI has
urged Freeland to communicate this response plan to Canadians, especially
African-Canadians.
In a
letter dated December 11, 2017 penned to the minister and signed by Debbie
Douglas, executive director of OCASI, the board expressed its concern regarding
the inhumane treatment.
“The
horrific and heartbreaking CNN reports and images of violence and sale of human
beings are a call for urgent action by Canada. What African migrants are
enduring in Libya is a violation of human decency and many international human
rights conventions. It is particularly abhorrent here in North America,
including Canada, which is home to many Africans and communities of African descent,
and is a region that is still grappling with the legacy of the transatlantic
slave trade including its legacy of structural anti-Black racism.”
The
organization says many families from around the world that have sought safe
haven in Canada are reminded of their own painful experience of migration,
while for others the CNN images evoke the reminders of what their fore-parents
and ancestors endured during slavery in Canada and the Americas in general.
OCASI says
it appreciates the statement by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on November 26
denouncing the migrant slave trade in Libya and calling on the international community
to eradicate human trafficking.
“Nevertheless
to be indignant about it is not enough. In this present urgent moment, what
does Canada plan to do concretely to lead the international community in
countering this horrific injustice and protect the human rights and dignity of
these vulnerable migrants and refugees?”
OCASI says
while the vast majority of African migration occurs within and among African
countries (upwards of 80%), the current Libyan situation is a clear indication
of African migrants growing desperation, ready to risk their lives for a better
future and Canada can’t stay silent.
“We
appreciate that the continent is one of the federal government’s priority
regions for resettlement in 2018-2020 (up to 10,000) but reality shows us that
Canada should expand these numbers.”
OCASI, which acts as a
collective voice for immigrant-serving agencies and to coordinate response to
shared needs and concerns, wants the Canadian government to work with state allies to address the root
causes of migration in the countries of origin and countries of transit.
This
includes not only the monitoring of the practices of Canadian companies
operating in those countries but also the support of transit centers for
vulnerable refugees and migrants before they are resettled or repatriated.
“We call
on the Canadian government to increase the number of visa posts in Africa and
to build the capacity of the existing ones to ensure faster processing of
African files for asylum and family sponsorship.”
The board
says it believes that the answer to irregular migration is the creation of more
pathways for regular migration.
“We urge
the Canadian government to review its selection policies and to create pathways
for permanent residency to temporary migrant workers. We also call on the
government to establish regularization programs that are accessible and
ongoing.”
The
organization is calling on the government to assure Canadians that “the global
compacts on migration and refugees will not lead to further closure of borders
in the geopolitical north, exacerbating the horrific experiences of refugees
and vulnerable migrants as we’re witnessing in Libya.”
On
December 3, members of various global civil society organizations gathered in Puerto
Vallarta, Mexico as part of the United Nations Preparatory meeting on the
Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration issued a statement on the
matter.
“We call
on swift and measured actions to end this, but also strongly condemn proposed
use of “concrete military and policing actions” to “rescue the migrants” as
suggested by the leaders of France, Chad and Libya at the AU-EU Summit in Cote
d’Ivoire from two days ago. Military actions are not the appropriate solution
to humanitarian crisis. They do not address the real cause, and can in fact
further exasperate an already highly militarized situation.”
The
statement was initiated by the Pan African Network in Defense of Migrants’
Rights (PANiDMR) and endorsed by the organizations.
[This story has been published in the NA Weekly Gleaner, Jan. 25-31, 2018.]
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