The Safe Third Country Agreement and Global Order

The Safe Third Country Agreement (SCTA) is a bilateral agreement between Canada and the United States that involves the mutual recognition of each party as an effective refugee host. This paper argues that although the agreement appears to be pro-refugee protection, in practice it functions as a non-arrival measure, barring refugees from entering Canada. The paper invokes the English School approach to investigate how both parties use the STCA to capitalize on values of order, while appearing to empower the principles of justice prevalent in international refugee norms. Using SCTA provisions, different theoretical approaches, and a thorough inventory of international refugee regime norms, the analysis seeks to contextualize the SCTA. The paper concludes that civil society’s push towards justice and refugee protection forces governments to consider values outside of order, with the potential of addressing both concerns harmoniously.