2023 RLLR 253

Citation: 2023 RLLR 253
Tribunal: Refugee Protection Division
Date of Decision: November 2, 2023
Panel: Ciara Lee
Counsel for the Claimant(s): Maryam Abdulhaq
Country: Afghanistan
RPD Number: TC3-40515
Associated RPD Number(s): N/A
ATIP Number: A-2024-01360
ATIP Pages: N/A

DECISION 

[1]                   MEMBER:  XXXX XXXX, a citizen of Afghanistan, seeks protection under sections 96 and subsection 97(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.  The allegations fully set out in your Basis of Claim form found in Exhibit 2, are summarized as follows.  In your 11th grade of school, you began a relationship with a girl, XXXX, who comes from a very conservative family.  Her family rejected your family’s marriage proposal.  Her uncle was then connected to the Taliban.  When he learned of your secret relationship with XXXX, you began facing threats.  When the Taliban ceased Kabul, you soon learned that XXXX’s uncle became a XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX in Paktia Province.

[2]                   Your fears were also heightened because your cousin was a former XXXX XXXX, and former XXXX XXXX and their families were being targeted by the Taliban.  You moved to a remote area to avoid detection during the regular raids in your family’s home.  You applied for Brazil’s Humanitarian Visa Program.  While you waited on that program, you went to Iran in XXXX 2022.

[3]                   While there, you attended an interview at the Brazilian Consulate.  You had to return to Afghanistan because your visa in Iran was expiring.  After remaining in hiding, you returned to Iran in XXXX 2022 and left for Brazil in XXXX 2022.

[4]                   As Brazil was only a temporary solution for you, you began your journey to the United States through South and Central America.  When you arrived in the United States, you decided to come to Canada to seek refugee protection.  I find that you are a Convention refugee pursuant to section 96 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

[5]                   I find that if you were to return to Afghanistan, you risk a serious possibility of persecution on the basis of your imputed political opinion as an opponent of the Taliban.  Your personal identity as a citizen of Afghanistan has been established on a balance of probabilities by your testimony and by a certified true copy of your passport found in Exhibit 1.  I found you to be a credible witness today.  While I did not need to ask you too many questions about your experiences or forward facing risks in Afghanistan, because this is well documented in your evidence and the objective country conditions.  I found that your testimony was consistent with your Basis of Claim form and the other evidence before me.

[6]                   You spoke consistently and directly about your relationship with XXXX and the threats that ensued from her then Taliban connected uncle, and how this escalated after the Taliban’s takeover.  You spoke consistently about the steps you took to protect yourself before and after this.  Regarding your fears tied to your cousin’s former role with the XXXX XXXX, I note that you provided a training certificate from your cousin in Exhibit 4 that demonstrates that he had been working in the XXXX XXXX XXXX.

[7]                   My credibility concerns were with your reavailment to Afghanistan after you had fled to Iran.  You explained that you returned to Afghanistan because your visa in Iran was only valid for XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX and that you were going to be arrested by the Iranian Police if you overstayed this visa and so your only option was to return to Afghanistan to try to get another visa for a longer duration.

[8]                   You testified about the steps that you took to protect yourself while you were back in Afghanistan during XXXX XXXX.  After your second Iranian visa was approved, you left immediately.  While returning to Afghanistan was a significant risk, given your past experiences and your fears, I find that based on the other credible testimony and evidence, that this is not fatal to your claim.

[9]                   I similarly asked about your failure to seek protection in the United States after being detained in the US after your arduous journey from Brazil, you had learned about the difficult asylum process in the United States and decided to come to Canada very shortly after your release from US Detention.  I find that your explanation for failing to seek protection in the United States and Brazil to be reasonable.

[10]                   So, based on your testimony and evidence, I am satisfied that on a balance of probabilities, the incidents described in your Basis of Claim form occurred as alleged, and that you have a subjective fear of returning to Afghanistan.

[11]                   The country conditions before us in the National Documentation Package for Afghanistan at Exhibit 3, as well as the source provided by your Counsel at Exhibit 4, confirms that there is a serious possibility of persecution on the basis of your imputed political beliefs if you were to return to Afghanistan.

[12]                   Item 1.5 of the NDP is a recent UNHCR guidance note on the international protection needs of people fleeing Afghanistan.  It outlines the widespread human rights violations taking place in Afghanistan that have led to civilians seeking international protection.  The UNHCR Guidance Note, together with other country documentary evidence, makes it clear that, among other things, the list of persons facing a serious risk of persecution as perceived opponents of the Taliban is steadily expanding.

[13]                   The Guidance Note outlines a non-exhaustive list of profiles of those particularly targeted by the Taliban, including former members of the Afghan security forces and Afghans associated with the former government, such as your cousin with the XXXX.  This is corroborated by the Human Rights Watch report found in Exhibit 4 that states that during Taliban searches, they often threaten and abuse family members to make them reveal the whereabouts of those in hiding.

[14]                   Some of those eventually apprehended and have been executed or taken into custody without acknowledgement that they are being held or information about their location.  This is in line with what you and your family have experienced because of your former ties to the XXXX XXXX.

[15]                   The NDP is full of other sources that speak in detail about the vast human rights abuses occurring in Afghanistan under the Taliban are referred to Items 1.4, 2.1, and 5.14.  These sources all align with the issues you faced as a result of your relationship with XXXX and the backlash from her family and the targeting you and your family have faced because of your connection to the former XXXX XXXX.

[16]                   Having considered the totality of the documentary evidence, I find that you have established a well-founded fear of persecution because of your imputed political opinion as a perceived opponent of the Taliban if you were to return to Afghanistan.

[17]                   As the agent of persecution, is the Taliban, which currently hold control in Afghanistan, I find that there is no state protection in the circumstances of your claim.  I therefore find that you have rebutted the presumption of state protection with clear and convincing evidence.

[18]                   Similarly, as the Taliban operate throughout the country, I find that there is a serious possibility of persecution throughout Afghanistan, that you therefore do not have a viable Internal Flight Alternative within Afghanistan.

[19]                   In summary, based on the proceeding analysis, I find that you have established that there is a serious possibility of persecution on a convention ground, namely, your imputed political opinion.  I therefore find that you are a Convention refugee, and I accept your claim.

——— REASONS CONCLUDED ———