UNHCR Representative in Canada, Johannes van der Klaauw, praised Canada for its very active engagement at both the General Assembly and Leader’s Summit in New York last week.
“I would like to express UNHCR’s profound appreciation to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Government and people of Canada for their support in protecting and assisting the world’s refugees and displaced people. Canada’s leadership shown at the summits is yet another demonstration of its outstanding political commitment and public engagement in response to the refugee cause as also expressed in the pledging of a number of significant contributions and initiatives.”
Canada’s pledges for support to refugee protection and assistance made during the summit:
- The Government of Canada will increase humanitarian assistance for 2016-2017 by at least 10 percent over the 2015-2016 total of $684 million;
- The Government of Canada will provide funding to improve educational opportunities for hundreds of thousands of displaced children in Iraq, Syria, and neighbouring countries;
- As part of Canada’s new $1.6 billion strategy announced in February 2016 to address the crises in Syria and Iraq, the Prime Minister announced over $442 million in humanitarian assistance over the next three years in response to crises in Syria, Iraq and the region;
- The Government of Canada will provide long-term institutional funding of $37.8 million over three years in support of UNHCR’s global response.
- The Government of Canada launched a Joint Initiative together with UNHCR and the Open Society Foundations to promote private sponsorship of refugees in other countries to help expand resettlement and mobilize citizens in direct support of refugees.
More information on Canada’s contributions can be found at http://pm.gc.ca/eng
For more information contact Gisèle Nyembwe, Public Information Associate, UNHCR Canada
Tel: (613) 986-4300 or 613-232-0909, extension 225 | Email: nyembwe@unhcr.org
