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Letter

Letters sent to Ministers demanding they close Eritrean consulate in Toronto over illicit tax scheme.

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Stewart Bell
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89 views

Letter

Letters sent to Ministers demanding they close Eritrean consulate in Toronto over illicit tax scheme.

Uploaded by

Stewart Bell
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 4

Honourable John Baird 27 June 2014

Minister of Foreign Affairs


Government of Canada

Honourable Chris Alexander
Minister of Citizenship and Immigration
Government of Canada

On behalf of the Eritrean Human Rights Group, I request that the Government of Canada
close the consulate of Eritrea in Toronto. The consulate continues to abuse its position in
Canada by demanding from Eritreans, in exchange for consular services, funds for its
military, in the form of a 2% income tax, in violation of UN approved sanctions and
Canadian law.

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1907 (2009) prohibits the provision to Eritrea of
financial assistance related to military activities. Canadian regulations implementing the
United Nations Resolution on Eritrea prohibit any person in Canada or any Canadian outside
Canada to knowingly provide or transfer, directly or indirectly, financial assistance related to
military activities to any person in Eritrea.

Canada expelled the Eritrean diplomat consul Mr. Semere O.Micheal for collection of funds
for the Eritrean military, in the form of a 2% income tax, in violation of UN sanctions and
Canadian law. The Government of Eritrea now relies on Eritreans who have Canadian
citizenship to collect these funds from Eritrean-Canadians. They assign and instruct Eritrean
Canadians in various Canadian cities to engage in funds collection.

The employees at the Eritrean Consulate General Office in Toronto do not have diplomatic
or consular status. There is not now any accredited consular staff. The current abuse of
Eritrean consular privileges can not, accordingly, be resolved by expulsion of foreign
diplomats.
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The closing of the Eritrean consulate need not mean the end of consular services to
Eritreans in Canada. The Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, Article 8, allows for
the appointment of a third state or protecting power to exercise the consular functions of
any other state, unless the receiving state objects. Eritrea could appoint another state to
exercise its proper consular functions in Canada. A third state Eritrea could appoint would
not likely abuse their appointment to violate UN sanctions.

This arrangement, as you know, has been used for Iran. Iran has appointed Oman to
exercise its consular functions in Canada.

In addition to closing the consulate general office of Eritrea in Toronto, I request that
consulate employees and the representatives of the consulate office in different cities be
brought to justice for their violation of Canadian law. The violations which have been
occurring are prosecutable in Canada.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada has to devise alternative ways, instead of passports or
other national identity documents, for Eritreans to establish their identities to the
Government of Canada. Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulation 178 provides that
a protected person applicant for permanent residence who does not hold a passport or
other identity document may submit a statutory declaration made by the applicant attesting
to his or her identity.

The declaration has to be accompanied by either
(i) a statutory declaration attesting to the applicant's identity made by a person who, before
the applicant's entry into Canada, knew the applicant, a family member of the applicant or
the applicant's father, mother, brother, sister, grandfather or grandmother, or
(ii) a statutory declaration attesting to the applicant's identity made by an official of an
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organization representing nationals of the applicant's country of nationality or former
habitual residence.

There has to be a reasonable and objectively verifiable explanation related to
circumstances in the applicant's country of nationality for the applicant's inability to obtain
any identity documents. For the purpose of this regulation, the exaction by the Eritrean
government of funding for its military as the price of issuance of a passport or other identity
document should be considered to be a reasonable and objectively verifiable explanation
related to circumstances in the applicant's country of nationality for the applicant's inability
to obtain any identity documents.

The Government of Canada now accepts statutory declarations from Somalis as proof of
identity under this regulation. It should also do the same for Eritreans. Canadian
insistence on passports or other identity documents from the Government of Eritrea
provides an opportunity for that Government to demand funds for its military in exchange
in violation of UN sanctions and Canadian law.

The Government of Canada now issues travel documents and the certificates of identity to
permanent residents for less than three years who are unable to obtain a national passport
for a valid reason. The policy can be found at
http://www.ppt.gc.ca/info/form.aspx?lang=eng&region=NonCA

Not wanting to pay the funds to support its military on which the Government of Eritrea
insists should be considered a valid reason for the purpose of this policy. The Government
of Canada should issue travel documents and certificates of identity to Eritrean permanent
residents on request.

There are reports of Canadians of Eritrean origin being forced and harassed to pay funds to
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support the Eritrean military, in the form of the 2% income tax, once they visit Eritrea. The
Government of Canada should protest to the Government of Eritrea this behaviour.

I further request a meeting with Minister John Baird's office and relevant Departmental
officials to discuss these matters relating to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I and other
members of Eritrean Human Rights Group have had a fruitful meeting with Honourable
Chris Alexander and his chief of Staff, Mr. Chris Day on May 16, 2014 to address the
matters in this letter relating to his portfolio.

Sincerely yours,

David Matas
Barrister and Solicitor
602-225 Vaughan Street
Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3C 1T7
Tel: 204-944-1831
Fax: 204-942-1494
E-mail: [email protected]

cc: Gary Keller
Chris Day
Rick Roth
Yannick Lamonde

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