Writers in Peril Report Peter Showler
For the past year, the Writers in Peril Committee has focused on two related projects. In December, 2019, the Prime Minister’s mandate letter to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) included the instruction to establish a program to resettle up to 250 human rights defenders, specifically—human rights advocates, journalists, and humanitarian workers—who were at risk in their home countries. The proposed program is a golden opportunity to protect writers at risk. Few countries offer temporary protection, and no other country offers permanent protection for human rights defenders, including writers, as a unique category. The proposed program would be a unique, expedited stream, avoiding the
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logjam of millions of refugees seeking resettlement. It would provide one year of financial support for writers and their families, and, as proposed, could also resettle individuals directly from their home country rather than first requiring that they leave their country to wait in precarious exile as a refugee.
