What is the Safe Third Country Agreement?
The Safe Third Country Agreement is a treaty between the governments of Canada and the United States under which people seeking refugee status must make their claim in the first safe country they arrive in (the U.S. or Canada). Under Canadian law, the United States is the only country that qualifies as a "safe" third country, but this is dependent on having a clear human rights record. "Only countries that respect human rights and offer a high degree of protection to asylum seekers may be designated as safe third countries."
In January 2017, when the Trump administrations implemented the travel and immigration ban against people of Muslim descent, calls began to end the qualification of the United States as a safe country for migrants and asylum seekers. In light of the recent instances of separating children from their families at the border between Mexico and the United States, we must demand that the Safe Third Country Agreement be ended. The human rights record of the United States no longer qualifies it to be a safe country for people seeking asylum. |
"Only countries that respect human rights and offer a high degree of protection to asylum seekers may be designated as safe third countries." |