Canada pauses removals to 4 Gulf nations due to war in Iran

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The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) announced on Tuesday that it has issued a temporary halt on the removals of inadmissible individuals in Canada to four Gulf nations due to the war in Iran.

Removals to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar have been paused for the time being, the agency said in a press release.

“This measure is being taken due to the volatile and unpredictable conditions affecting these countries,” it said.

“Within the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar, the conditions are creating broad and generalized risks to the entire civilian population that extend beyond specific targeted actions.”

The CBSA says that the temporary halt, known as an Administrative Deferral of Removals (ADR), is imposed pursuant to Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations in situations when countries are deemed unsafe due to conditions such as regional violence.

The agency noted that the ADR does not apply to anyone in Canada who has been deemed inadmissible on the grounds of criminality, international or human rights violations, organized crime, or security.

“Once the situation in these countries stabilizes and the circumstances no longer pose a generalized risk to the entire civilian population, the ADR will be lifted and the CBSA will resume removals for individuals who are inadmissible to Canada and have a removal order that is enforceable,” the CBSA said.

The announcement came amid ongoing Iranian attacks on U.S. military assets and energy infrastructure in the aforementioned Gulf nations, as retaliation for the joint American and Israeli strikes on Iran that started the war late last month.

The conflict, which has spread to much of the Middle East, led the CBSA to issue a similar pause in removals to Israel and Lebanon earlier this month. Fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon continued this week, and thousands have been displaced.

A full list of countries where ADRs are in place can be found on the CBSA website.