The Safe Third Country Agreement: An Analysis Thirteen Years Later

Over the past few years, there have been several changes in the US and Canadian refugee policies, as well as changes in international refugee law and global sentiments towards refugees. In this thesis, I will be analyzing the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) between the US and Canada, which came into force in 2004. I will look at the debates and arguments that surrounded the STCA during its early stages and how those debates have evolved since its implementation. I will be exploring whether these changes are extensive enough to render the STCA ineffective. I will also unpack the meaning of major concepts and terms within the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol. I hope to determine to what extent these new developments have affected the status of the STCA, whether it should be suspended or eliminated, and what that would mean for security and border management strategies.