Denmark - the Refugee Appeals Board’s decision of 1 March 2018
Keywords:
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Actor of persecution or serious harm
Description
Per Art. 6 QD actors who subject an individual to acts of serious harm (as defined in Art. 15). Actors of persecution or serious harm include: (a) the State; (b) parties or organisations controlling the State or a substantial part of the territory of the State; (c) non-State actors, if it can be demonstrated that the actors mentioned in (a) and (b), including international organisations, are unable or unwilling to provide protection against persecution or serious harm as defined in Article 7. |
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Country of origin information
Description
"Information used by the Member States authorities to analyse the socio-political situation in countries of origin of applicants for international protection (and, where necessary, in countries through which they have transited) in the assessment, carried out on an individual basis, of an application for international protection.” It includes all relevant facts as they relate to the country of origin at the time of taking a decision on the application, obtained from various sources, including the laws and regulations of the country of origin and the manner in which they are applied, regulations of the country of origin, plus general public sources, such as reports from (inter)national organisations, governmental and non-governmental organisations, media, bi-lateral contacts in countries of origin, embassy reports, etc. This information is also used inter alia for taking decisions on other migration issues, e.g. on return, as well as by researchers. One of the stated aims of the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) is to progressively bring all activities related to practical cooperation on asylum under its roof, to include the collection of Country of Origin Information and a common approach to its use. |
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Persecution Grounds/Reasons
Description
Per Article 1A ofthe1951 Refugee Convention, one element of the refugee definition is that the persecution feared is “for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion“. Member States must take a number of elements into account when assessing the reasons for persecution as per Article 10 of the Qualification Directive. |
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Relevant Documentation
Description
“All documentation at the applicants disposal regarding the applicant's age, background, including that of relevant relatives, identity, nationality(ies), country(ies) and place(s) of previous residence, previous asylum applications, travel routes, identity and travel documents and the reasons for applying for international protection.” |
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Refugee Status
Description
The recognition by a Member State of a third-country national or stateless person as a refugee. |
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Internal armed conflict
Description
“A conflict in which government forces are fighting with armed insurgents, or armed groups are fighting amongst themselves.” |
Headnote:
The complainant, an Ethnic Arab and Sunni Muslim from Damascus, Syria, was granted temporary protection under the Danish Aliens Act Art. 7 (3).
On 1 March 2017, the complainant lodged a complaint claiming refugee status under the Danish Aliens Act Art. 7 (1).
The Board accepted that the complainant, who did not want to be redrafted into the Syrian Army, if he returned to Syria, would be at risk of being recalled to military service and therefore at specific and individual risk of persecution covered by the Danish Aliens Act Art. 7 (1). Consequently, the complainant was granted refugee status under the Danish Aliens Act Art. 7 (1).
Facts:
The complainant, born in 1972, is an Ethnic Arab and Sunni Muslim from Damascus, Syria. He entered Denmark in October 2015 and in April 2016 he was granted temporary protection under the Danish Aliens Act Art. 7 (3).
On 1 March 2017, the complainant lodged a complaint claiming refugee status under the Danish Aliens Act Art. 7 (1). In support of the compliant he informed that he fears being recalled to military service. In July 2015 the complainant’s residence was called upon by five men from the Syrian Regime. The men asked for the complainant and were informed that he was at work. That same day the Syrian Regime sought the complainant at his place of work. After the complainant had left Syria his family had been called upon twice.
Decision & reasoning:
The Refugee Appeals Board upheld (the decision) that the complainant met the conditions for being granted temporary protection under the Danish Aliens Act Art. 7 (3).
The Board cited from several country of origin information reports, namely from the Finnish Immigration Service: “Syria: Military Service, National Defense Forces, Armed Groups Supporting Syrian Regime and Armed Opposition”, “Landinfo’s temanotat Syria”: “Reaksjoner mot desertører og personer som unndrar seg militærtjeneste” from 3 January 2018 and a report from the Danish Ministry of Integration from August 2017: “Syria: Recruitment Practices in Government-controlled Areas and in areas under Opposition Control, Involvement of Public Servants and Civilians in the Armed Conflict and issues Related to Exiting Syria”. According to these sources military service in the Syrian Army implies a nearby risk of being forced to participate in serious human rights violations. Several sources noted that the Syrian Government had pushed the age limit of conscription to include men over the age of 42 years.
UNHCR has asserted that reports of conscription of men over the age of 42 have generally involved qualified personnel with specific expertise and that it was unclear whether the age limit has been raised as part of a government policy or instead is happening on a case by case basis. According to UNHCR, as lower-level commanders have been given more authority due to increasing decentralisation, it may be on a more local level that commanders have deviated from existing regulations regarding age limits.
The complainant was 43 years old when he left Syria and 44 years old when the Danish Immigration Service decided on his case. The complainant has earlier completed his military service where he obtained certain military skills.
Against this background the Board accepted that the complainant, who did not want to be recalled for service in the Syrian Army, if returned to Syria would be at risk of being recalled for military service.
Based on country of origin information the Board accepted that military service in the Syrian Army implies a nearby risk of being forced to participate in serious human rights violations. The Board therefore found that based on the conditions for military service in Syria the complainant was at a specific and individual risk of persecution covered by the Danish Aliens Act Art. 7 (1). Consequently, the complainant was granted refugee status under the Danish Aliens Act Art. 7 (1).
Outcome:
The applicant was granted refugee status under the Danish Aliens Act Art. 7 (1).
Cited National Legislation:
| Cited National Legislation |
| Denmark - The Danish Aliens Act Art. 7 (1) |
| Denmark - The Danish Aliens Act Art. 7 (3) |
Other sources:
The Finnish Immigration Service: “Syria: Military Service, National Defense Forces, Armed Groups Supporting Syrian Regime and Armed Opposition”, 23 August 2016.
Landinfo’s temanotat “Syria: Reaksjoner mot desertører og personer som unndrar seg militærtjeneste”, 3 January 2018.
The Danish Ministry of Integration: “Syria: Recruitment Practices in Government-controlled Areas and in areas under Opposition Control, Involvement of Public Servants and Civilians in the Armed Conflict and issues Related to Exiting Syria”, August 2017.