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2019 RLLR 55

Citation: 2019 RLLR 55
Tribunal: Refugee Protection Division
Date of Decision: February 11, 2019
Panel: William T. Short
Counsel for the claimant(s): Kristina Cooke
Country: Hungary
RPD Number: TB8-04266
ATIP Number: A-2020-01274
ATIP Pages: 000104-000107


DECISION

[1]       On February 11, 2019, the Refugee Protection Division (RPD) heard the claim of [XXX], who claims refugee protection under sections 96 and 97 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA). On that same day, the panel rendered its oral positive decision and Reasons for decision. This is the written version of the oral decision and Reasons that have been edited for clarity, spelling, grammar and syntax with added references to the documentary evidence and relevant case law where appropriate.

[2]       This is the positive decision with respect to the matter of TB8-04266 of [XXX]. He is a citizen of Hungary of Roma descent, and claims to be a Convention refugee or a person in need of protection pursuant to the provisions of 96 and Subsection 97(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act1 on account of his Roma heritage.

[3]       The claimant has asserted that he was subjected to severe and chronic societal and economic discrimination in Hungary because of his Roma ethnicity. He was further attacked on one particular occasion by some so-called “skinheads,” and the police who were called did not seem very interested in protecting this fellow.

[4]       For a more complete and detailed examination or recital of his allegations, one can regard the narrative portion of his Basis of Claim (BOC) Form,2 which has been taken into evidence as Exhibit 2.

[5]       The claimant’s assertions are in keeping with country documents with respect to the plight of the Roma in Hungary. If one were to look at Item 13.5 in the document package, this is Response to Information Request and it is HUN 105586.E and it is dated August 18th, 2016. It says:

Sources indicate that Roma in Hungary face discrimination ‘in all fields of life,’ including education, housing, employment, health care and political participation. The Hungarian Ombudsman reports that the”[d]isadvantageous social conditions of Roma is aggravated by discrimination especially in the field of education, health, employment, housing and access to services.” According to their 2016 annual report, the office, of the Ombudsman notes that Roma complainants “most often talk about prejudices present in society, discriminative treatment as well as severe social and accommodation problems.”3 [footnotes omitted]

[6]       It goes on to quote the country reports of the United States State Department of State for 2015 that “states that unemployment rates for Roma are 3-5 times higher than for non-Roma.”4 [footnotes omitted]

[7]       “In addition, 78.1 percent of Roma experienced “severe material deprivation in 2014… “5 and this is in severe contrast to the rest of the population.

[8]       I am also looking at Item 2.1 in the document package which is Hungary: Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, and that’s again the DOS, it’s dated April 23rd, 2018.

According to the EC’s Roma integration indicators scoreboard (2011-16) one-third of Roma lived in households with no toilet, shower or bathroom….

In January the ECHR ruled that police failed to provide adequate protection to two Romani individuals who were attacked with stones and bottles during a demonstration by Jobbik and paramilitary groups in Devecser in 2012 or to conduct a proper investigation of the incident.

In February the Supreme Court ruled that local police in Gyongyospata had discriminated against the local Romani community in 2011 by failing to protect them against harassment by extremist groups.6

[9]       Then going on to Item 2.5, which is a United Nations Human Rights Report, it has:

… stated that in recent years, Roma had increasingly been victims of displays of intolerance, hostility and racially motivated violence.” [It was recommended] inter alia that Hungary take resolute measures to combat all forms of intolerance, including in political discourse and take further steps to effectively prevent, investigate and sanction all forms of discrimination by members of the police force. HHC recommended that Hungary take measures to combat ethnic profiling by the police affecting the Roma7.  [footnotes omitted]

[10]     This speaks to the fact that this young man was continually stopped and asked for identification by the police.

[11]     In Response to Information Request, HUN106145.E, which is 10.1, dated August 17th, 2018, it says;

A 2018 report by the UN Human Rights Committee indicates that in Hungary there is a “prevalence of hate crimes and … hate speech targeting minorities,” including Roma, and states that “police often fail to investigate and prosecute credible claims of hate crimes and criminal hate speech … Minority Rights Group …  reports that Roma face a “continued hostility” from police forces in Hungary, which includes a “failure to protect” them from attacks8. [footnotes omitted]

[12]     It goes on and on.

[13]     I am of the view that the country materials disclose that the Hungarian State does not offer effective protection to the Roma minority from hate crimes.

[14]     One of the other pieces of material cited says that the police have a habit of not citing hate crimes as hate crimes upon the due process, they simply process as ordinary criminal offences.9

[15]     The information I have before me indicates that the Roma are subjected to terrible societal discrimination in Hungary, they are subjected to hate crimes on an ongoing basis, they are subjected to harassment by the police, and the Hungarian State through the police force has totally failed to protect these people and for that reason, the claimant I find to be totally credible.

[16]     The claimant has a claim that he is, among other things, a Convention refugee because of his ethnicity, which is a connection or a nexus to a Convention ground.

[17]     Therefore, I find that the allegations of fact made by the claimant in his oral testimony today and in his written narrative are, on the balance of probabilities, true and for the reasons previously stated, the officials and authorities in his own country have failed to protect him. That in my humble opinion makes him a Convention refugee.

[18]     I find that he is a Convention refugee and his claim is hereby accepted.

———- REASONS CONCLUDED ———-

1 Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, S.C. 2001, c. 27 as amended, sections 96 and 97(1).
2 Exhibit 2, Basis of Claim Form (BOC) TB8-04266, received March 5, 2018.
3 Exhibit 3, National Documentation Package (NDP) for Hungary (August 31, 2018), Item 13.5, at pp. 2-3.
4 Ibid., at p. 2.
5 Ibid., at p. 3.
6 Ibid., Item 2.1, at pp. 35-36.
7 Ibid., Item 2.5, at para. 11.
8 Ibid., Item 10.1, at p. 1.
9 Ibid.