2023 RLLR 244
Citation: 2023 RLLR 244
Tribunal: Refugee Protection Division
Date of Decision: December 1, 2023
Panel: S. Williams
Counsel for the Claimant(s): Jeffrey L Goldman
Country: Albania
RPD Number: TC3-21950
Associated RPD Number(s): N/A
ATIP Number: A-2024-01360
ATIP Pages: N/A
DECISION
[1] MEMBER: These are the reasons for the decision in the refugee protection claim of Ms. XXXX XXXX, who claims to be a citizen of Albania and is claiming refugee protection pursuant to sections 96 and 97(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. You allege that you face persecution at the hands of your former husband and his relatives, and would be persecuted due to the fact that you abandoned your husband, which is against the strict cultural traditions of the community in which you are from. I find you to be a Convention refugee, as you have established a well-founded fear of persecution based on a Convention ground, namely your membership in a particular social group, women fearing gender-based violence.
[2] In terms of your identity, I find that your identity and status as a citizen of Albania has been established on a balance of probabilities by your testimony and the supporting documentation provided, including the copy of your Republic of Albania passport filed in Exhibit 1. In terms of your credibility, I found you to be a credible witness on a balance of probabilities. You testified in a straightforward manner. There were no inconsistencies in testimony or contradictions between the testimony and the other evidence before me that has not been reasonably explained.
[3] I find that you have credibly established you were married to a man referred to by his initials, Mr. PM, and that you were forced to marry him by family members who arranged the marriage when you were very young, and that during this marriage you experienced domestic violence abuse. You explained in your testimony today that when you tried to seek help from relatives, you did not receive support, and instead you were subjected to additional abuse by your father, who forced you to return to live with your husband. You also explained that you tried to seek help from police. However, protection was not provided, as police informed you that the issue was a family matter.
[4] In the year 2003, you fled Albania and travelled to USA to escape the abuse of your spouse, and while in the USA you received information from relatives who informed you that your former husband, Mr. PM, continued to threaten your life, including threats that if you refused to return to Albania, then — and if you refused to return to Albania, refused to resume your relationship with him, then your life was at risk. There is also information here concerning threats that were made by your own family members and in-laws, threatened your life, and I am referring here to in your narrative, you make reference to being accused of “dishonouring their promises”. Following these incidents, you travelled from USA to Canada, and you filed an application for refugee protection. And you testified today and included information in your narrative about the cumulative experiences of abuse that led you to experiencing serious XXXX XXXX effects, including XXXX and XXXX and other terrible symptoms that you discussed in your testimony.
[5] You also provided documentary evidence in support of your allegations at Exhibits 5 through 10, which include a copy of your marriage certificate to Mr. PM and letters of support written by relatives. I will highlight two (2) documents in particular. Firstly, there is a letter of support written by your sister, initials DK, at Exhibit 8. And the letter provides detailed statements of your sister’s knowledge of the abuse that you have endured at the hands of your husband, as well as statements about the strict Albanian cultural code by which your family lives.
[6] Your sister, Ms. DK, provided statements of her knowledge of you having been subjected to forced marriage at a young age, and that you were subjected to domestic violence abuse during your marriage to Mr. PM. Your sister’s letter provides knowledge of her knowledge of your history of severe XXXX XXXX challenges, as well as information regarding the nature of the agent of persecution’s personality and profile, identifying him as aggressive, vengeful and from a financially well off family.
[7] In addition, at Exhibit 9, you provided a statement written by your son, initials AM, which includes statements demonstrating he witnessed violence perpetrated against you by his father, Mr. PM, and in this letter he states his knowledge of threats to your life that were made by extended family members. And I find the documentary evidence on file to be detailed and relevant and to corroborate your testimony.
[8] In addition, I will note that your daughter’s testimony today was also very helpful and informative. Through her testimony, your daughter — initials AM — stated her knowledge of the domestic violence abuse that you endured at the hands of Mr. PM, and her knowledge of the risk to your life that you would face at the hands of your former husband as well as extended relatives in Albania. I find the witness testimony was consistent with your allegations, and that the witness was credible on a balance of probabilities.
[9] With respect to the issue of subjective fear, I have considered whether your failure to claim asylum in the United States of America during time spent there beginning in the year 2003, as well as your delay in claiming asylum, undermine your subjective fear or detract from your overall credibility. You explained the reason you did not apply for refugee protection in the United States of America is because you approached a lawyer for help with your immigration status in the year 2004, and you were advised by the lawyer about the one (1)-year filing deadline policy in the United States, which prevents a person from filing a refugee claim in USA if it is not done within the first year of — upon entry to USA.
[10] You also explained that you then decided to leave USA and travel to Canada to reunite with your son, who presently resides here in Canada, and that you applied for refugee protection promptly upon entry to Canada. I accept your statements as credible as you have explained them, and I find that your delay in claiming asylum and your failure to claim asylum in USA under these particular circumstances does not undermine your subjective fear or detract from your overall credibility. And I will add that one (1) significant part of my finding is based on the detailed testimony you provided about your XXXX XXXX status and the challenges you experienced emotionally while you were in the United States. And in conclusion, I find your subjective fear and credibility have been established on a balance of probabilities.
[11] I have also considered the objective basis of your claim and have reviewed the objective evidence found in the National Documentation Package for Albania. Many sources throughout the package, including but not limited to NDP Items 16, 2.1, 2.11, 5.5, 5.14, and 5.18 speak directly to the core allegations of this claim, that being gender-based violence against women. These reports provide detailed information, which demonstrate that gender-based violence in Albania is a national problem, and demonstrates patriarchal attitudes are deeply rooted. Sources state the reasons for this include a “macho male Balkan mentality, low standard of education, the economic situation, and gender-based inequalities.” In addition, poor court functioning and inadequate police training were other contributory factors.
[12] Sources state that forced marriage is criminalized under the criminal code of Albania, and in Albania’s family code. However, a United States Department of State report found at NDP Item 2.1 provides evidence that forced marriage continues to occur in Albania. Sources demonstrate that the Albanian government has established various national strategies and has taken some measures towards the goal of combating violence against women, and this information is found in NDP Item 5.10. I will note that the same source describes the limited effectiveness of such measures due to issues surrounding lack of cooperation among municipalities.
[13] And similarly, at NDP Item 5.18, this source outlines practical issues and remaining challenges affecting Albanian authorities’ ability to provide effective support services for victims of gender-based violence. This includes failing to adopt certain elements of their action plans, absence of state counselling structure, lack of trust in institutions, and disrespectful treatment of women reporting violence. The same source states in a number of cases, police structures continue to address gender-based violence as an issue of private domain, and I find this to be very much in line with your testimony concerning your experiences when you tried to seek help in Albania. Considering the evidence before me, I find that your fear of gender-based persecution in Albania is objectively well founded.
[14] I have considered whether state protection would be available to you in Albania, and as I stated earlier, you did testify that you did make attempts to access state protection. However, you were not protected, as police considered your circumstances to be a family matter. I find there is clear and convincing evidence before me that the state is unable or unwilling to provide you with adequate protection. Your statement is in line with the country condition documentation regarding gender-based violence and treatment of women in Albania. I have also considered your Counsel’s written submissions on the subject of state protection in Albania filed at Exhibit 7, which demonstrates there is flaws in the state’s ability to protect victims of domestic violence.
[15] I will note a few sources in the National Documentation Package that also speak to the issue. Firstly, NDP Item 5.14 as well as 5.23, 2.11, and 2.1, and these sources provide some more information demonstrating that women face barriers and discrimination to equitable access to justice. Sources state that the lack of referral mechanisms in about half of the municipalities in the country has made access to mechanisms for protection for gender-based violence almost impossible, and while Albanian authorities have made considerable efforts, including having introduced laws and policies in response to domestic violence, certain forms of violence against women, including forced marriage, sexual harassment and sexual violence have received little legislative and political detention, and authorities do not always enforce the laws. Considering this evidence, I find you have rebutted the presumption of state protection.
[16] And lastly, I have considered whether a viable internal flight alternative exists for you in the capital city of Tirana. You testified today that your ex-husband has various relatives who reside in the internal flight alternative location, and therefore you would not be safe there. Your daughter provided witness testimony and included additional details about relatives who work in XXXX settings in Tirana. She explained that if you were to come into contact with XXXX services, there is a chance that you could be identified by relatives, and that your former husband may discover your whereabouts.
[17] In this case, your daughter presently resides in the IFA location, and has provided testimony about the increased risk of persecution that you would have faced if you were to reside with her. She explained that relatives are more likely to become aware that you have returned to Albania if you reside with her, and that your ex-husband continues to be interested in pursuing you because of cultural traditions related to family honour.
[18] Moreover, there is objective evidence of forming regarding challenges to relocation within Albania. Sources at NDP Item 7.7 demonstrate that due to the small size of Albania, the chances of being located after relocation from one (1) residence to another is increased. Further details on the subject are found in objective evidence at Exhibit 6, which demonstrates that Albania is a small country which is “intensely social networked and people are identified by their accents and recognized through connections with their hometowns and families.” For these reasons, it would be difficult for someone to remain anonymous.
[19] On the evidence before me, I find there is a serious possibility of persecution in the internal flight alternative location. Country conditions outlined in the National Documentation Package indicate widespread violence against women, and I find that in this case, the agent of persecution does have the means of locating you by accessing information about your whereabouts through members of his large social network, including relatives in the region of Tirana. Furthermore, considering your relationship to the agent of persecution, having been married and sharing two (2) to children, I find on a balance of probabilities that the agent of persecution would be able to use personal identifying information about you to locate you in the internal flight alternative location in the future.
[20] With respect to motivation to locate you, I find the agent of persecution’s actions of making threats to your life, trying to encourage your children to abandon you, and expressing that he continues to hold a grudge against you, as expressed through communication with your daughter years after you fled Albania, demonstrate the agent of persecution’s firm intent to maintain control over you and to subject you to domestic violence abuse. Therefore, I find a viable internal flight alternative does not exist for you.
[21] Having considered all the evidence in this case, I find there is a serious possibility that you would face persecution if you were to return to Albania. Therefore, I accept the claim and conclude that you are a Convention refugee according to section 96 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. And that concludes my decision.
——— REASONS CONCLUDED ———