Vulnerable LGBTQI+ Afghan refugees need additional targeted and expedited resettlement pathways. We propose two policy mechanisms the government can activate to make this happen:
1. We ask the Minister of Immigration to use their authority under Section 25 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA)1 to create a public policy to urgently resettle at least 300 pre-identified LGBTQI+ Afghan refugees as Government Assisted Refugees (GARs).
2. We ask the Government of Canada to make Rainbow Railroad a direct referring partner to allow the organization to immediately refer vulnerable LGBTQI+ individuals from Afghanistan, Ukraine, and beyond for resettlement in Canada.
You can read more about the recommendations here, or access it below.