France - CNDA, 11 March 2010, Mr. C., n°613430/07016562

Facts:

Mr. C., a national from Iraq, of Kurdish origin, applied for asylum to the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (Ofpra) which rejected his claim. In his appeal before the National Asylum Court/Cour nationale du droit d’asile (CNDA), he mentioned the general situation of insecurity which prevails in Mosul, his region of origin, as well as various incidents taking place around him (explosions, hostage taking, and his father was wounded). Given this unstable situation and his family’s low wages, he left his country of origin and came to France.

Decision & reasoning:

The CNDA considered that the assessment of the case does not establish that the applicant would personally face persecution within the meaning of Article 1A(2) of the 1951 Refugee Convention upon return to his country of origin or one of the serious threats provided under subsidiary protection.

In this respect, the CNDA found that “if the context of diffuse insecurity which prevails in the region of Mosul and in the Governorate of Ninive translates in particular into attacks against minorities, including Christians, this situation of unrest does not amount to a situation of internal armed conflict”. The CNDA considered that “in particular, the acts committed by radical Kurdish groups and extremist Sunnite groups are real but do they not reach an organisational degree or objectives which correspond to this definition”.

The CNDA therefore concluded that the situation which currently prevails in the region of Mosul, as well as in the whole Iraqi territory, can no longer be considered as a situation of armed conflict, within the meaning of Article L.712-1 c) of Ceseda [which transposes Article 15 (c) of the Qualification Directive]. The applicant cannot avail himself of this provision.

Outcome:

The applicant’s appeal was rejected.

Observations/comments:

Article 15 (c) of the Qualification Directive is transposed in French legislation by Article L.712-1 c) Ceseda.

Article L.712.1 Ceseda reads [unofficial translation]:
“Subject to the provisions of Article L. 712.2 [exclusion], subsidiary protection is granted to any person who does not qualify for refugee status under the criteria defined in Article L. 711.1 and who establishes that she/he faces one of the following serious threats in her/his country:
a) death penalty;
b) torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;
c) serious, direct and individual threat to a civilian’s life or person by reason of generalised violence resulting from a situation of internal or international armed conflict”.

Under French legislation, the threat should thus not only be “serious and individual” (as in the Qualification Directive) but also “direct”. Also, French legislation refers to “generalized” violence rather than “indiscriminate” violence.