UNHCR Welcomes Saudi Teen's Resettlement In Canada

The United Nation refugee agency, UNHCR, has welcomed Canada's decision to provide asylum to a Saudi teenager who ran away from her family

UNITED NATIONS, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 12th Jan, 2019 ) :The United Nation refugee agency, UNHCR, has welcomed Canada's decision to provide asylum to a Saudi teenager who ran away from her family.

Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun, 18, was initially under threat of deportation from Thailand when her flight from Kuwait stopped in Bangkok last week.She was on her way to seek asylum in Australia.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said in a statement that the quick actions over the past week of Thai authorities in providing temporary refuge and facilitating refugee status, and of the Canadian government in offering the teenager emergency resettlement, were key to the successful resolution of this case.

Al-Qunun flew from Bangkok to Toronto, Canada, after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed late Friday that his country had given the teenager asylum.

"The [UN High Commissioner for Refugees] has made a request of Canada that we accept al-Qunun as a refugee, and we have accepted the UN's request that we grant her asylum," Trudeau told reporters in Regina, a city in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan.

"Al-Qunun's plight has captured the world's attention over the past few days, providing a glimpse into the precarious situation of millions of refugees worldwide," UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said in a statement.

"Refugee protection today is often under threat and cannot always be assured, but in this instance international refugee law and overriding values of humanity have prevailed." It was pointed out that Rahaf was offered protection by UNHCR, and taken to a place of safety, while her claim was assessed by the UN agency, which decided that her claim was valid.

Thai officials blocked Saudi requests for her to be sent back to Kuwait.

The agency welcomed the decision of the Canadian Government to provide international protection and a new home for the Saudi national there as a resettled refugee.

UNCHR chief Filippo Grandi said in his statement that "refugee protection today is often under threat and cannot always be assured, but in this instance international refugee law and overriding values of humanity have prevailed." UNHCR says it consistently advocates for the principle of non-refoulment, which states that anyone confirmed, or claiming to be in need of international protection, cannot be returned to a territory where their life or freedom are threatened. This principle is recognized as customary international law and is also enshrined in Thailand's treaty obligations, according to UNHCR, although it is not a party to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol, defining the status of refugees.

"With political sentiment and public attitudes towards refugees having hardened in some countries in recent years, formal resettlement - the mechanism by which Ms al-Qunun has been accepted by Canada - is available only to a fraction of the world's 25.4 million refugees, typically those at greatest risk, many of whom are women," the agency said.

The case was dealt with on a fast-track 'emergency' basis in light of the urgency of her situation. Ms al-qunun said that she would be killed if sent back home.