Chapter III. PLEDGES Government-assisted refugees are provided with essential services and income support through Canada’s Resettlement Assistance Program. To help these refugees adjust to their new life in Canada, the Government of Canada reaffirms its commitment to increase funding for this program by 20 percent, to a total of $58 million. Canada pledges to create an Office of Religious Freedom. The office will advocate for the protection of religious minorities and promote the pluralism that is essential to the development of free and democratic societies. In addition, Canada pledges to continue to resettle religious minorities and victims of persecution on the grounds of sexual orientation, including those from Iran who have fled to Turkey. Canada pledges to use its resettlement program flexibly to respond to the protection needs of victims of sexual violence in Haiti. To this end, we pledge to resettle 40 victims of sexual violence and their dependants, identified by UNHCR as being in need of protection. Canada pledges that, for each of the next 5 years, 200 of our resettlement spaces will be available for emergency situations and, thus, identified as available as part of an international pool. Canada jointly pledges that the delivery of comprehensive durable solutions, notably in protracted refugee situations, requires collaboration with other Member States, UNHCR and other partners. We must all promote opportunities for refugee resettlement and encourage more countries to engage in resettlement. CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC (THE) PLEDGE FORM I – First pledge: Preventing statelessness by providing documentation to the population The political and security instability that has reigned in the Central African Republic for more than a decade has resulted in the emergence of armed groups in the north and south-east of the country, whose activities have often caused deep distress as a result of serious violations of human rights and, above all, the massive destruction of infrastructure, including that housing decentralised State services, thereby considerably limiting their capacity to provide minimum basic services. 59