Canada Program

Canada Humanitarian program for Afghan human rights defenders in need of resettlement

The Canadian Government can support Human Rights Defenders at risk who are in need of resettlement to Canada through its Humanitarian Program.

As a referral partner, Front Line Defenders will refer cases of human rights defenders at risk who meet certain criteria to the Canadian Government for consideration.

In order to be eligible to apply as a human rights defender, you must meet the following criteria:

1. The applicant is an Afghan human rights defender who is at risk because of their human rights work.
2. Human rights defender is any person who peacefully works for the promotion and protection of human rights of all. A human rights defender is not limited to those who work for a human rights organization. However, due to the volume of requests we are compelled to consider active contribution to human rights and the risk faced which is linked to their human rights work.
3. We recognise that risk may increase due to the identity of the human rights defender including gender, sexual orientation, ethnic and religious identity.
4. To qualify for this program the human rights defender should traditionally be located outside Afghanistan, but taking into account the context, provision can also be made for those currently in the country.
5. The Canadian Government process requires any person that is referred to qualify within their admissibility and eligibility criteria. For information on such criteria and what family members can be included, please refer to the following link.
6. Each applicant must be clear that they wish to travel to Canada to establish permanent residence
7. The applicant is known to, or has been vetted by, Front Line Defenders or ProtectDefenders.eu, and is not known to pose risks to Canada that would make them inadmissible.”

Although human rights defenders are key members of civil society, not all NGOs or other actors in civil society are human rights defenders. Active contribution to human rights and a clear link between the risk faced and human rights work is important.

Please note that space is extremely limited even for those meeting the criteria of human rights defenders.

If you are not a human rights defender but you meet one of the other eligibility criteria as a woman leader, LGBTI individual, persecuted religious or ethnic minority or a journalist please find further information here (add link to relevant Canadian govt webpage

Please note that this information refers only to the access for Human Rights Defenders. The Canadian Government offers other processes which may provide an opportunity for Afghan nationals to apply for resettlement through its Humanitarian Program. Front Line Defenders is not part of those processes. More information on this mechanism may be obtained through the Canadian government web page:

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/refug...