Denmark - The Refugee Appeals Board’s decision of 17 January 2017
| Country of Decision: | Denmark |
| Country of applicant: | Afghanistan |
| Court name: | The Refugee Appeals Board |
| Date of decision: | 17-01-2017 |
Keywords:
| Keywords |
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Assessment of facts and circumstances
Description
The duty of the state to carry out an individual assessment of all relevant elements of the asylum application according to the provisions of Article 4 of the Qualification Directive, including considering past persecution and credibility; and the duty of the applicant to submit as soon as possible all statements and documentation necessary to substantiate the application. |
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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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Internal protection
Description
Where in a part of the country of origin there is no well-founded fear of being persecuted or no real risk of suffering serious harm and the applicant can reasonably be expected to stay in that part of the country. |
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Non-state actors/agents of persecution
Description
People or entities responsible for acts or threats of persecution, which are not under the control of the government, and which may give rise to refugee status if they are facilitated, encouraged, or tolerated by the government, or if the government is unable or unwilling to provide effective protection against them. |
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Persecution (acts of)
Description
"Human rights abuses or other serious harm, often, but not always, with a systematic or repetitive element. Per Article 9 of the Qualification Directive, acts of persecution for the purposes of refugee status must: (a) be acts sufficiently serious by their nature or repetition as to constitute a severe violation of basic human rights, in particular the rights from which derogation cannot be made under Article 15(2) of the ECHR; or (b) be an accumulation of various measures, including violations of human rights which is sufficiently severe as to affect an individual in a similar manner as mentioned in (a). This may, inter alia, take the form of: acts of physical or mental violence, including acts of sexual violence; legal, administrative, police and/or judicial measures which are in themselves discriminatory or which are implemented in a discriminatory manner; prosecution or punishment, which is disproportionate or discriminatory; denial of judicial redress resulting in a disproportionate or discriminatory punishment; prosecution or punishment for refusal to perform military service in a conflict, where performing military service would include crimes or acts falling under the exclusion clauses in Article 12(2). " |
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Personal circumstances of applicant
Description
The range of factors such as background, gender, age, and individual position which must to be taken into account in the assessment of an application for international protection per Article 4(3)(c) of the Qualification Directive. |
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Subsidiary Protection
Description
The protection given to a third-country national or a stateless person who does not qualify as a refugee but in respect of whom substantial grounds have been shown for believing that the person concerned, if returned to his or her country of origin, or in the case of a stateless person, to his or her country of former habitual residence, would face a real risk of suffering serious harm as defined in Article 15 of 2004/83/EC, and to whom Article 17(1) and (2) of 2004/83/EC do not apply, and is unable, or, owing to such risk, unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection of that country.” “Note: The UK has opted into the Qualification Directive (2004/83/EC) but does not (legally) use the term Subsidiary Protection. It is believed that the inclusion of Humanitarian Protection within the UK Immigration rules fully transposes the Subsidiary Protection provisions of the Qualification Directive into UK law. |
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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 applicant, a minor, an Afghan citizen, ethnic Pashtun and a Sunni Muslim from Chahar Dara district in Kunduz Province, feared if returned to Afghanistan he would be killed or forcibly recruited by the Taliban.
The Board notes that the applicant is 15 years old, Pashtun, illiterate and the eldest son of the family where the father was killed in 2015. Further, the Board notes that according to country of origin information it is credible that the Taliban recruits young men and boys in Chahar Dara.
With reference to the applicant being a minor and without a network the Board did not find the internal flight alternative relevant or reasonable.
The Board hereafter found that the applicant had rendered probable that if returned to Afghanistan he would risk suffering serious harm covered by the Danish Aliens Act Art. 7 (2) and granted the applicant subsidiary protection under this article.
Facts:
The applicant, born in 2001, is an Afghan citizen, ethnic Pashtun and a Sunni Muslim from Chahar Dara district in Kunduz Province, Afghanistan. He entered Denmark in February 2016 and applied for refugee status. He stated that he feared if returned to Afghanistan he would be killed or forcibly recruited by the Taliban. In support of his application the applicant referred to the ongoing war between Government forces and the Taliban in Chahar Dara and that his father was killed 10 days before he left the country. Further, that a boy of his age and several other boys had been apprehended by the Taliban to be used as soldiers or suicide bombers.
The Danish Immigration Service rejected the asylum application in October 2016.
Decision & reasoning:
The Refugee Appeals Board found the applicant sufficient mature to undergo the asylum process.
The account of the applicant has been established by the Board.
The Board did not find that the general conditions in Kunduz can justify granting the applicant asylum. However, it is apparent from country of origin information that the Taleban is in control of essential parts of the Chahar Dara District where the applicant originates. In the Landinfo report of 2 November 2016 on Afghanistan the Chahar Dara District is described as the Taliban “hotbed” in the province and that the Taliban has established a parallel shadow administration.
Regarding the use of child soldiers, the Board cites the following from the EASO Country of Origin report on Afghanistan, Recruitment by Armed Groups of September 2016: (p. 125) “On 28 September 2015, in a large-scale attack, the Taliban, with child soldiers in its ranks, overran the city of Kunduz, took control of most areas, freed hundreds of prisoners from the jail, seized key buildings and advanced on the airport”. Same report p. 23: “On 30 September 2015 Al Jazeera reported that the Taliban was going from door to door in Kunduz demanding young boys as recruits from families”. Thus, the Board notes that according to country of origin information it is credible that the Taliban recruits young men and boys in Chahar Dara.
The Board notes that the applicant is 15 years old, Pashtun, illiterate and the eldest son of the family where the father was killed in 2015.
Based on this the Board found that the applicant had rendered probable that he, if returned to Chahar Dara, would risk against his will being forced to join the Taleban.
With reference to the applicant being a minor and without a network the Board did not find it relevant or reasonable to refer him to seek protection in another part of Afghanistan (internal flight alternative).
The Board hereafter found that the applicant had rendered probable that if returned to Afghanistan he would risk suffering serious harm covered by the Danish Aliens Act Art. 7 (2).
Outcome:
The applicant was granted subsidiary protection under the Danish Aliens Act Art. 7 (2) .
Cited National Legislation:
| Cited National Legislation |
| Denmark - The Danish Aliens Act Art. 7 (2) |
Other sources:
Landinfo Report of 2 November 2016 on Afghanistan: Security Situation in Kunduz Province.
EASO Country of Origin Information Report, Afghanistan, Recruitment by Armed Groups, September 2016.