Senator Yuen Pau Woo

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The Honourable Anita Anand
Minister of Foreign Affairs
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6

RE: Impending Exclusion of International NGOs From Gaza

Dear Minister:

We are writing to follow up on concerns regarding the impending exclusion of international non-governmental organizations from Gaza and the West Bank, and to ask what further steps are being taken in response.

While we note that Canada joined other foreign ministers on December 30, 2025, in expressing concern about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, including the risk of NGO deregistration, Israel has since introduced new registration requirements that are widely viewed as incompatible with sustained humanitarian operations. As of December 31, several established international NGOs providing essential humanitarian services have been deregistered as a result, including Médecins Sans Frontières, Islamic Relief Canada, Care Canada, and Oxfam Canada.

We understand that deregistration could result in the closure of INGO operations within 60 days. If this occurs, the impact on access to essential services, particularly health care, would be significant. The window for action is short.

As you know, international NGOs support a substantial portion of remaining health capacity in Gaza, and many health facilities would be forced to cease operations if these organizations are unable to continue their work. INGOs, working alongside the United Nations and Palestinian organizations, deliver humanitarian assistance at a scale that cannot easily be replaced.

Given Canada’s humanitarian commitments, and our role in funding and supporting these organizations, we would appreciate clear information on how Global Affairs Canada is engaging on this issue, including with Israeli counterparts and international partners, to prevent disruption to INGO operations.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Respectfully, 

February 5, 2026

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The Honourable Tracy Muggli, Senator
The Senate

The Honourable Yuen Pau Woo, Senator
The Senate

Dear Senators Muggli and Woo:

Thank you for your correspondence of January 20, 2026, concerning the impending exclusion of international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) from Gaza.

On March 9, 2025, the Government of Israel published “Guidelines for the Registration of Organizations and Issuance of Recommendations for Their Foreign Employees” that applies to all INGOs engaged in humanitarian work in the West Bank and Gaza. The chief challenge with this policy is that it requires INGOs to submit personal data on Palestinian staff.

Canada and other like-minded governments support decisions of INGOs not to disclose personal staff information in accordance with their organizational data protection and duty of care policies. INGOs have engaged constructively in the re-registration process, submitting a comprehensive set of materials and presenting multiple alternative options to demonstrate compliance with international safeguards on anti-terrorism. INGOs also act as essential implementing partners of the United Nations (UN), thus any changes to their registration procedures would have significant implications for the overall humanitarian response.

On December 30, 2025, 37 INGOs operating in Gaza and the West Bank were formally notified by an Israeli inter-ministerial committee that their registrations would expire on December 31, 2025. Under this policy, any organization not re-registered is required to cease operations following a mandatory 60-day wind-down period, unless registration is renewed. Since January 1, 2026, only re-registered organizations have been permitted to deploy international staff to Palestine.

Despite the uncertainty, partners are continuing to deliver assistance through a variety of modalities, including in the West Bank, and they are pursuing contingency measures.

Over the last several months, Canada has engaged extensively at various levels with relevant authorities in Israel:

• Canada has raised the issue of INGOs re-registration with Israeli interlocutors in Tel Aviv. This was formalized in a letter on November 6, 2025, sent to the Israeli government, advocating on behalf of the humanitarian INGOs that Canada is currently funding in Gaza.
  
  
• Canada is engaging in the Civil Military Coordination Center with Israeli representatives as well as U.S. civilian and military representatives to raise concerns around the issue of registration, and to flag the importance of the INGOs footprint in the Gaza humanitarian response and principled humanitarian assistance.
  
  
• Canada signed a Joint Donor letter addressed to the Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism on this subject on August 13, 2025.

Canada also signed a joint Foreign Ministers’ statement on international NGO restrictions on August 12, 2025. Another joint Foreign Ministers’ statement on August 9, 2025, calls “on the Government of Israel to urgently find solutions to amend its recent registration system of international humanitarian organisations, to ensure these vital actors of humanitarian aid can continue their essential work.” On December 30, 2025, Canada published the Joint statement on the Gaza humanitarian response. The statement refers to the potential adverse impacts of INGOs deregistration including access to essential services provided by INGOs and their critical role in the humanitarian response given their collaboration with various UN agencies and Palestinian organizations. On January 28, 2026, Canada published a joint Foreign Ministers’ statement which in part calls on Israel to “ensure that international NGOs are able to operate in Gaza, including by lifting restrictive registration requirements.”

Canada continues to engage with like-minded partners to coordinate joint advocacy efforts, notably through support of common positions advanced by the Good Humanitarian Donorship group and the Humanitarian Country Team Plus of which Canada is a member. These memberships have allowed Canada to contribute to, and support, numerous UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs statements on the issue, including in the UN Security Council.

Sincerely,

The Honourable Anita Anand, P.C., M.P.