North America and the Caribbean

Operational Environment and Strategy

While Canada has traditionally been an important leader in advancing refugee protection and assistance globally, recently it has also served as a model domestically by welcoming thousands of refugees, notably Syrians. It has also increased its political and financial support to a number of refugee operations, particularly in the areas of refugee education and the protection and empowerment of refugee women and girls. The Government has committed to assisting other States in developing alternative pathways for the admission of refugees, including through private sponsorship programmes based on the Canadian model, as well as building capacity in asylum processing.
 
In the United States of America, UNHCR will focus on maintaining political and financial support for its global programmes by the Government and Congress, with a view to maximizing access to protection and solutions for people of concern; raising public awareness about refugees and their plight; and promoting favourable protection environments in the United States of America and in Caribbean countries. UNHCR will also continue to highlight the protection needs of people arriving at the southern border of the United States of America from Mexico and the Northern Triangle of Central America; promote alternatives to detention; advocate access to fair and effective RSD procedures; and support the robust resettlement programme, seeking to enhance opportunities for vulnerable refugees through better placement, programming and more effective evaluation of integration outcomes.
 
In the Dominican Republic, UNHCR will continue to work with the Government to find solutions for the large segment of the population at risk of statelessness by providing legal assistance and identifying and registering the stateless population.
 
Countries and territories in the Caribbean continue to experience complex mixed movements that involve people who may be in need of international protection moving alongside economic migrants, and the region has become a transit point for asylum-seekers trying to reach North America. Caribbean States and territories remain committed to enhancing protection standards within the framework of the Brazil Plan of Action and UNHCR will continue to work closely with them to enhance refugee protection as well as to foster solidarity and responsibility-sharing within the Caribbean. 
 
UNHCR has also developed a 2016-2020 protection strategy to support Caribbean States and territories to strengthen protection and solutions, including through: enhanced screening and identification in the context of mixed movements; the adoption of national asylum procedures and/or measures to facilitate access to refugee status determination; the establishment of adequate reception arrangements; exploring alternatives to detention; efforts to provide local integration; as well as measures to eradicate statelessness.

Response and Implementation

UNHCR will work to sustain political commitment and public engagement in Canada, both in terms of ensuring the asylum system is accessible and efficient and enhancing resettlement opportunities. UNHCR will support Canada’s protection system and continue to advocate for a reduction in the use of detention. In addition, UNHCR will seek to highlight elements of the Canadian asylum and resettlement models - including private sponsorship schemes – as good practices for other countries, as a means to expand protection capacities and solutions in those countries.