Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Marc Miller, announced a family-based humanitarian pathway on Thursday that enables Sudanese and non-Sudanese nationals to reunite with their family in Canada permanently. Through this pathway, people who are extended family members of Canadian citizens or permanent residents could meet their relatives again, provided they resided in Sudan when the conflict began on April 15, 2023.

Armed conflicts in Sudan between the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group, and the Sudanese Armed Forces have continued to deteriorate since April 15. The UN Refugee Agency said in June that the estimated number of people fleeing from the ongoing conflict in Sudan is expected to surpass one million sooner than previously projected. In August, UN International Organization for Migration Sudan reported that more than 4.4 million people have been forced to flee Sudan and over one million people have sought refuge outside of Sudan.

Since December 15, Wad Madani, Sudan’s second-largest city, has witnessed widespread killing, maiming and detaining of civilians and an attack on a hospital. Some of these actions were allegedly ethnically motivated. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed concerns about these human rights violations and said that at least 250,000 people have been displaced in Wad Madani thus far.

In April, Canada launched a series of temporary immigration measures for Sudanese nationals since the outbreak of armed conflict. Canada has allocated over $165 million this year in humanitarian assistance funding to experienced partners in Sudan and neighboring countries impacted by the crisis.

Miller expressed deep concerns regarding the ongoing conflicts and humanitarian situations in Sudan. “Canada will continue to help those in need and uphold our humanitarian traditions as a country,” he said.