Thank you very much.

Thank you as well for the invitation to be here today.

My name is Dr. Nishin Nathwani, and I am the head of strategy at Rainbow Railroad, which is an international organization dedicated to supporting at-risk LGBTQI+ individuals to escape state-sponsored violence and to access pathways to safety.

I'd like to start by recognizing Canada's ongoing commitment to implementing the recommendations from its most recent universal periodic review, particularly those recommendations focused on protecting LGBTQI+ persons in forced displacement and supporting those who have been resettled to Canada.

I'd like to name a couple of these recommendations. Canada has supported, for instance, recommendation 37.315 from Iceland, which advises developing strategies to address homophobia, biphobia and transphobia and to counter the rise of anti-gender movements. We observe daily in our own work at Rainbow Railroad how the growing global anti-gender movement is fuelling new waves of LGBTQI+ forced displacement and how it is contributing to a worsening environment for LGBTQI+ refugees, even after resettlement.

I'd also like to mention Canada's support for recommendation 37.317 from the U.K., which underscores the importance of collaborating with partners at all levels, including civil society, to address the root causes of violence against LGBTQI+ communities. In this respect, I think Global Affairs Canada's partnership with Rainbow Railroad to establish an international network of governments, civil society organizations and refugees to advance protection and solutions for LGBTQI+ persons in forced displacement is a really positive step in the right direction.

While we recognize Canada's support for these recommendations, I'd also like to underscore that critical challenges remain. For instance, many LGBTQI+ asylum seekers face prolonged stays in transit countries where they frequently endure compounded persecution and marginalization from host governments, civil society, families and even other migrants and asylum seekers. We urge Canada to expand funding opportunities and partnerships with Canadian and international civil societies to reduce these risks in protracted displacement settings.

We are also deeply concerned by Canada's recent announcement of a reduction in refugee resettlement slots for 2025. We join the Canadian Council for Refugees in urging the government to recommit to resettlement as a vital protection mechanism for those facing severe human rights violations, including many LGBTQI+ asylum seekers.

On this point, I think it's essential to remember that the statistical majority of the world's asylum seekers are hosted in countries where LGBTQI+ identity, intimacy, association or expression is criminalized to some degree. For this reason, local integration is often not viable. Resettlement remains a lifeline for many LGBTQI+ people in forced displacement to achieve access to basic human rights.