Citation: 2019 RLLR 67
Tribunal: Refugee Protection Division
Date of Decision: October 7, 2019
Panel: K. Fainbloom
Counsel for the claimant(s): Dariusz Wroblewski
Country: Colombia
RPD Number: TB8-15262
Associated RPD Number(s): TB8-15317, TB8-15261
ATIP Number: A-2020-01274
ATIP Pages: 000189-000191
DECISION
[1] MEMBER: So, these are the reasons for the positive determination of the refugee claims of [XXX], her husband [XXX] and their daughters [XXX].
[2] The claimants are citizens of Colombia and they claim refugee protection pursuant to Section 96 and 97(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
[3] Their allegations are contained in the narrative of the principal claimant’s Basis of Claim form. I’m going to briefly summary those allegations.
[4] The, the principal claimant is a [XXX]. She describes how she and her family have been affected by the civil war in Colombia. Her brother was killed in [XXX] of 2003. She met the other adult claimant and they were married in 2004. Their daughter was born in 2008. She graduated in 2011 and began to work and at the same time, she began to be involved in community work. Assisting people who have been displaced by the civil war.
[5] So on weekends, she would work with members of the community action boards, assisting people displaced by the conflict who had come to Medellin. All was going well until her, her work came to the attention of the AGC. And on [XXX], 2017 she received a note from this organization at her home, threatening her and telling her that she must quit her work or she would pay the consequences.
[6] After, she reported this to the appropriate authorities including her employer. On [XXX], she was threatened by a man on a, on a motorcycle. And fearing further problems, they decided to leave Medellin and they relocated to Bogotá.
[7] However, on [XXX] in Bogotá she was again a, a, attacked and followed. So they again relocated. The family now relocated to Cack-, Cúcuta. I have trouble with that one. However, there again there were problems. On [XXX], the principal claimant’s husband received a telephone call from someone searching, searching for them. And indicating that they knew where they were.
[8] So, fearing for the lives the, the claimants fled Colombia and made their way to Canada and made refugee claims upon arriving.
[9] Having considered the totality of the evidence before me, I find the claimants to be Convention refugees. find this is due to their political, an imput-, an imputed political opinion. On the part of the agents of persecution in terms of the volunteer work the principal claimant was doing. As noted in the threatening letter received, her actions are seen as a, a political view of the, the AGC’s lost.
[10] With respect to the claimants’ identities as nationals of Colombia, it’s established by the documents on file which include copies of their passports.
[11] As to the credibility of the allegations, I have no concerns. Firstly, the claimants provided their evidence in a credible detailed and what appeared to be spontaneous fashion.
[12] The responses given in an oral testimony were con-, consistent with what’s been stated in written form. The claimants were appropriately emotional in describing some of the difficulties they faced in Colombia. Their allegations are consistent with country condition reports as to what might happen in Colombia if you come to the attention of the wrong people.
[13] And I would note the presence of a number of fairly strong corroborative documents. This includes letters corroborating the principal claimant’s volunteer work. The letter from the lawyer who assisted in her work and who was aware of the threatening calls she had received. There’s a copy of the threatening letter itself. There are a number of supportive letters including from the principal claimant’s sister who provided her and her family refuge in, in [XXX] of 2018. There’s also a letter from their friend who provided the shelter for this family while they were in the other city. There’s a letter from, there’s a letter from the retired police officer who describes the assistance and suggestions he made to the family.
[14] There are some references in the letters to searches that are ongoing in Colombia for people looking for the principal claimant. And there’s also documents indicating how the principal claimant suffered from [XXX] as a result of, of having these threats uttered against her. Documents showing the, the, the counselling she received in Colombia and the counselling she’s receiving in, in Canada as well. And finally, there are the police reports.
[15] And so, in consideration of these documents, in consideration of the quality of the testimony, I find on the balance of probabilities the allegations to be true.
[16] Given that I accept the allegations to be true, the co-, country condition documents before me indicate there’s an objective basis to their, claimants’ fear of returning to Colombia.
[17] The documents note the existence of threats, of violence and incidents of violence against human right defenders, social leaders, educators and, and so on. People such as the claimant who are providing assistance to those who have been devastated by the civil conflict. According to a recent U.N. report, there were 163 verified killings of social leaders and human rights defenders since November 2016.
[18] So, in light of the country condition documentation, I find there’s an objective basis for their fear of returning. Given that they’ve approached the author-, the appropriate authorities on a number of occasions and not received adequate protection, I find the claimants have rebutted the presumption of adequate state protection. And I also see that as a result of their movements in various parts of the countries and the fact that each time they moved, they were still targeted and harassed.
[19] There is no viable internal flight alternative available to the claimants. And I find that if they relocated to any part of Colombia they would suffer a serious possibility of persecution.
[20] So, for all these reasons, I conclude the claimants are Convention refugees. And I therefore accept their claims.
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