An interesting day in Canada right now -- we're working to have this poster-boy for the radical Right sent packing Canadian Anti-racism Education and Research Society
www.recomnetwork.org & www.antiracist.com

More discussion of the Zundel refugee claim
PDF version: http://www.e-refugee.ca/newsletter_3_1_pdf.pdf
Word DOC version: http://www.e-refugee.ca/newsletter_3_1_doc.doc

Holocaust denier Ernst Zundel's attempts to seek asylum in Canada continue to spark debate. CSIS has labeled Zundel a "national security risk because of ties to racist groups" However, rather than a security threat, Mr. Zundel is perhaps best described as, in the words of commentator Rex Murphy, "an embarrassment". Mr. Zundel is also described in the press as "more dangerous than you realize" for his abetting of anti-semitism.in the Middle East. Even refugee lawyers have gone out of their way over the past week to proclaim that they are not representing Mr. Zundel.

Amnesty International came out this week in favour of Mr. Zundel's ability to seek asylum in Canada Amnesty stated its position as follows: "The Universal Declaration of Human Rights says it simply: Everyone has the right to seek asylum. Everyone. It is one of the most crucial human-rights safeguards in our violent, unjust world." While the other points made by Amnesty about ensuring no political interference in the evaluation of any claim are apt, their reference to the UDHR is not. Missing from the Amnesty citation is Article 14(2) which qualifies the right to asylum: "This right [to seek and to enjoy asylum] may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations." This qualification is also embodied in the provisions of Article 1F of the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. As unforgiving as these provisions may be, they have been accepted in international law for the past 50 years.

Unfortunately, much of the furor surrounding the situation of Mr. Zundel has arisen from a basic ignorance of the basic tenets of refugee protection in Canada and elsewhere and, in particular, the new extradition provisions of the IRPA which ease the enforcement of the exclusion provisions of the Convention. Specifically, s. 105 of the IRPA deems an extraditable person excluded from protection as a refugee under Article 1F(b) of the Convention. Other provisions of the IRPA (notably, s. 101(f)) bar claimants suspected of serious criminality or involvement in criminal organizations. Of course, all these provisions of the IRPA requires a basic equivalence between the extraditable or criminal offenses and a serious Canadian offense. Clearly, if these provisions do not exclude Mr. Zundel from protection the problem lies not in Canada's immigration laws, but rather in our hate crime laws.

The case is troubling, but the principle is clear

By ALEX NEVE Saturday, February 22, 2003 - Page A21

This week, we learned that Ernst Zundel wants refugee status in Canada. And now, two key human-rights principles lie before us: the right to seek asylum and the obligation to ensure that hate crimes do not go unpunished.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights says it simply: Everyone has the right to seek asylum. Everyone. It is one of the most crucial human-rights safeguards in our violent, unjust world. When terror and fear reign at home and one's own government is the source of the problem or refuses to be part of the solution, individuals must be able to turn to the world community for safety. Distressingly, this right is under siege around the world as governments devise an expanding arsenal of laws and practices meant to keep out refugees. But the reality is that keeping out refugees often means condemning them to face the very persecutors they are trying to flee.

The Zundel case puts this fundamental principle to a difficult test. The widespread reaction has been that, to allow a claim by this man, notorious for his crimes of hate, makes a mockery of the very notion of asylum. But the principle must hold. And it must apply to everyone. The impartiality of Canada's refugee system and the best chance for safety of the thousands who turn to it for protection every year lie in simply letting the system do its job.

There can be no space for political interference, dictating whose case should be heard and whose not. We know that, the world over, such interference ends up in refugees being denied the protection they deserve: claims made by women turned down because of a government's discriminatory approach to women's rights, adherents to a certain religion or political movement rejected because of a host country's foreign policy. Interference puts refugees at risk. Once we allow it, where do we draw the line?

Maintaining the integrity of Canada's refugee system, however, is also a crucial government responsibility. It must be protected from abuse. If the system's integrity fails, real refugees will suffer. As such, officials could accelerate their consideration of this claim, to ensure that it is dealt with expeditiously but fairly. This keeps both the sanctity of the right and the integrity of the process intact.

At the same time, hate-crimes convictions and allegations against Mr. Zundel continue to demand justice. The Canadian Human Rights Commission has already ruled that he has spread hate through the Internet, and he has been convicted by German courts. Strong hate-crimes laws, vigorously enforced, are a crucial human-rights tool. Refugees know firsthand the devastating human cost of hate.

Amnesty International and other groups have pressed Canada to improve its laws and practices in this area, including with respect to Holocaust denial when it is motivated by hate. These obligations must also be at the forefront of the government's response to Mr. Zundel's renewed interest in Canada.

The refugee process and the justice system should go hand in hand. Just because someone has made a refugee claim in Canada does not make them immune from criminal prosecution for war crimes, crimes against humanity or hate crimes.

Sadly, governments, including Canada's, often get this wrong -- willing to deport, unwilling to prosecute. We cannot simply export problem cases to other countries with fingers crossed that someone else will do the right thing. We need to ensure that justice will be the response (if not abroad, then at home). Achieving justice is sometimes difficult, and even costly. But it is the road we must travel.

Alex Neve is secretary-general of Amnesty International Canada.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20030222/COZUNDEL//?query=refugee