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October 17, 2005 - 18:30

Refugee advocates submit petition claiming Canada mishandling asylum cases

WASHINGTON (AP) - Refugee advocates filed a petition Monday with an official international human rights group charging that Canadian policies are violating the rights of some refugees who are seeking asylum in Canada.

The petition was filed before a closed-door hearing of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights by a coalition Canadian and American groups. The commission is an arm of the Organization of American States.

Specifically, the petition said Canada has been returning refuge claimants at the U.S.-Canada border without seeking assurances that they would be permitted to return to Canada for hearings.

"As a result, some refugee claimants were detained in the United States for many months, often in violation of international legal standards," the petition said.

"While in detention in the United States, claimants missed their appointments for their refugee status, interviews with Citizenship and Immigration Canada, lost control of evidentiary documents, and were separated from family members," it said.

In some cases, the document said, some refugees who were entitled to seek asylum in Canada were deported by U.S. authorities back to the countries from which they had fled persecution.

The petition was filed by the Canadian Council for Refugees, Vermont Refugee Assistance, Amnesty International Canada, Freedom House, the Global Justice Center, the Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinic and Harvard Law School Advocates for Human Rights.

A statement from the Canadian Council for Refugees said the problems stem from "a change in policy in January 2003." Before this change, refugees had been protected by "critical safeguards," according to the petition.

The Canadian Embassy did not return a telephone call seeking comment.