Date: 19980114
Docket: IMM-1195-97
BETWEEN:
AHMED HAGI ABDI
aka AHMED HAJI ABDI
Applicant
- and -
THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION
Respondent
REASONS FOR ORDER
HEALD, D.J.:
[1] This is an application for judicial review of a decision of the Convention Refugee Determination Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board (the Board) dated February 25, 1997, in which the Board concluded that the applicant is not a Convention refugee.
[2] FACTS
The applicant is a citizen of Somalia. The particular social group in which he claims membership is his clan which is the Darod clan Marehan sub. Until the
government of Siad Barre was overthrown in December 1990, he experienced no problems because of his membership in the Marehan clan. In December 1990 his father was killed by members of the United Somalia Congress (U.S.C.). He had been a member of the Criminal Investigation Department in the Government. In January of 1991, Abgal members of the U.S.C. raided the applicant's house and tortured the applicant's family. The family then moved several times in an effort to elude the Abgals. Because it became increasingly difficult for Somalis to remain in Kenya, the applicant came to Canada and claimed Convention refugee status in this country.
[3] THE DECISION OF THE BOARD
The Board concluded that the applicant was a Somali national, that he had been raised in Mogadishu and that he and his father were perceived to be members of the Marehan clan. On this basis the Board concluded that the applicant had a well-founded fear of persecution in Mogadishu. The Board then considered whether the applicant had an internal flight alternative (I.F.A.) in Somalia. The Board concluded that the applicant has an I.F.A. in the Gedo region, the traditional homeland areas for the Marehan-Reer Dini and since it is presently controlled by the Marehan, it is easily accessible through Kenya.
[4] ANALYSIS
The applicant submits that the Board committed reviewable error in concluding that Gedo is an I.F.A. for the applicant. In the applicant's view, the Board ignored documentary evidence that a new conflict had broken out in the Gedo region.
[5] I agree with that view of the matter. In a letter dated December 4, 1995, the Somalia Immigrant Aid Organization stated:
| The Canadian Government can give no assurances that a person being returned to Somalia will be directed to a specific area without travelling through hostile territories. To deport a somali in Gedo would be physically difficult and would put the person concerned at risk.1 |
[6] In the case of Thirunavukkarasu v M.E.I., Linden J.A. speaking for the Federal Court of Appeal stated:2
| An IFA cannot be speculative or theoretical only; it must be a realistic, attainable option. Essentially, this means that the alternative place of safety must be realistically accessible to the claimant. Any barriers to getting there should be reasonably surmountable. The claimant cannot be required to encounter great physical danger or to undergo undue hardship in travelling there or in staying there. For example, claimants should not be required to cross battle lines where fighting is going on at great risk to their lives in order to reach a place of safety. |
[7] Based on the documentary evidence quoted supra, I conclude that the Board committed a reviewable error in failing to consider the evidence with respect to whether departure from Gedo was "a realistic attainable option".
[8] For these reasons, the application for Judicial Review is allowed. The decision herein of the Convention Refugee Determination Division of the Immigration and Refugee board dated February 25, 1997 is set aside and the matter is returned to a differently constituted panel of the Board for rehearing and redetermination.
[9] CERTIFICATION
Neither counsel suggested certification of a serious question of general importance pursuant to Section 83 of the Immigration Act. I agree with that view. Accordingly, no question will be certified.
D.J.
Toronto, Ontario
January 14, 1998
FEDERAL COURT OF CANADA
Date: 19980114
Docket: IMM-1195-97
BETWEEN:
AHMED HAGI ABDI
aka AHMED HAJI ABDI
Applicant
- and -
THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION
Respondent
REASONS FOR ORDER
FEDERAL COURT OF CANADA
Names of Counsel and Solicitors of Record
DOCKET: IMM-1195-97
STYLE OF CAUSE: AHMED HAGI ABDI
aka AHMED HAJI ABDI
and
| THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND |
IMMIGRATION
DATE OF HEARING: JANUARY 13, 1998
PLACE OF HEARING: TORONTO, ONTARIO
REASONS FOR ORDER BY: HEALD, D.J.
DATED: JANUARY 14, 1998
APPEARANCES: Ms. Joanne L. Orsi
For the Applicant
Mr. Kevin Lunney
For the Respondent
SOLICITORS OF RECORD:
Ms. Joanne L. Orsi
MAX BERGER & ASSOCIATES
Barristers and Solicitors
1033 Bay Street
Suite 207
Toronto, Ontario
M5S 3A5
For the Applicant
George Thomson
Deputy Attorney General
of Canada
For the Respondent
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