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2019 RLLR 82

Citation: 2019 RLLR 82
Tribunal: Refugee Protection Division
Date of Decision: December 31, 2019
Panel: Elsa Kelly-Rhéaume
Country: Burundi
RPD Number: MB9-07334
Associated RPD Number(s): MB9-07374
ATIP Number: A-2020-01459
ATIP Pages: 000015-000019


[1]       After having heard the evidence and analyzed it, the Board is ready to render its decision with regards to the claims of [XXX] (file number MB9-07334) and his sister [XXX] (file number MB9-07374).

[2]       The claimants allege they are citizens of Burundi and they are seeking refugee protection pursuant to Sections 96 and 97(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

[3]       The claimants allege that they are Hutu. In 2018, they completed their high school diploma in Rwanda. Upon return to Burundi in [XXX] 2018, the claimant, [XXX], alleges that he received a police summons asking him to present himself to the police on December 23rd, 2018. When he presented himself at this state, intelligence agents questioned him about what he had been doing in Rwanda. They took his phone and implied that he was involved with a group of youths spreading propaganda on social media.

[4]       The claimant also alleges that he was kidnapped on January 25th, 2019 where his watch and phone were stolen and he was held without food or water for two days. He alleges that he was beaten and interrogated with regards to the reasons he went to Rwanda and asking him who he was working with to undermine the government in Burundi. In the end, he was released because his father paid millions of francs to his abductors.

[5]       The claimant, [XXX], alleges that she received threatening phone calls from individuals saying that she would be killed and raped because she was gathering information on Burundi in order to help groups in Rwanda.

[6]       The claimants arrived in Canada on [XXX], 2019 and sought asylum on April 10th, 2019.

[7]       The Board finds that the claimants are “Convention refugees” as they have established a serious possibility of persecution should they return to their country of origin based on one of the grounds set out in Section 96 of the IRPA, namely their imputed political opinion for being suspected of working against the government of Burundi.

[8]       With regards to identity, the claimants provided certain identity documents at the request of the Board that contained many errors. During the first hearing, the claimants had difficulty explaining the reasons for these mistakes.

[9]       At the second hearing, the claimant Mrs. [XXX] explained that she had since spoken to her father who told her that he had obtained these documents when the claimants were already in Canada. Her father said that he had gone to different authorities to obtain the required documents, but as he does not read French he did not realize they contained mistakes. He also told her that he obtained a new national identity card for her because he couldn’t find her original one at home.

[10]     Thus, the Board gives no weight to the following identity documents as they contained many mistakes and the claimants have not established that they were obtained legitimately: Exhibits C-1 and C-2 which are the attestations of residence, C-10 and C-12 which are the birth certificates and C-13 which is the national identity card for Mrs. [XXX].

[11]     That being said, the claimants also submitted as evidence of their identity their two authentic passports on which the information is consistent with the claimants’ declarations. The claimants were also able to explain how they had obtained these passports and their explanations were conforming with the documentary evidence.

[12]     They also submitted several laissez-passer which are authentic documents given by Burundi for allowing them to travel and study in Rwanda. These documents do not contain any anomalies and are consistent with the information found in their passports. Consequently, the Board gives these primary identity documents weight and strong probative value with regards to the claimants’ identities.

[13]     While the Board evidently does not condone the fabrication of documents to bolster an asylum claim, it accepts the claimants’ explanation with regards to their father’s undertakings to obtain these documents while the claimants were already in Canada. The claimants are both young and relied on their father to obtain these documents as they thought they were absolutely necessary for their asylum claim.

[14]     In conclusion, the identity of the claimants has been established as nationals of Burundi on a balance of probabilities.

[15]     With regards to credibility, the claimants were both credible witnesses. With regards to the threats and violence suffered in Burundi, the claimant, [XXX], recounted in detail how he was detained and interrogated several times. He also explains his dissatisfaction of the Board why he did not write about his detention in his IMM 5669 form. He submitted that he did not know who had abducted him and because he had not been taken to a legitimate jail, he did not think that he had to write this information in the form. The Board finds that this is a logical explanation as the claimant was not detained lawfully.

[16]     The claimant, [XXX], also testified in detail about the threatening phone calls she received and she added significant details to those already found in her Basis of Claim form which bolster her credibility.

[17]     The claimants also provided documentary evidence that supported their allegations. Exhibits C-3 through C-7 proves that they indeed attended high school in Rwanda and Exhibit C-18 is a copy of the police summons that was issued to the principal claimant. In light of their credibility and the supporting documents provided, the claimants have proven their allegations on a balance of probabilities.

[18]     The Board finds that the claimants have established that they face a future risk of being subjected to arbitrary detention, ill treatment such as physical assault and torture, sexual violence and death if they had to return to Burundi.

[19]     The documentary evidence found in the National Documentation Package at Tabs 1.5, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 10.5 and 13.1 states that authorities in Burundi and Imbonerakure are responsible for serious human rights violations, summary executions, rape, kidnappings and intimidation of people who are perceived to be political opponents. Furthermore, Tab 1.5 states that individuals who have lived in the countries surrounding Burundi such as in Rwanda have been subjected to arbitrary arrests and other human rights violations as they are suspected of collaborating with rebel groups based in Rwanda who are seeking to overthrow the regime in Burundi.

[20]     Not only do the claimants fit that profile as they studied in Rwanda, but they also lived in Kasikibuye (phonetic), a neighbourhood where many young people have been arrested and where mass graves have been found. In light of the attacks and threats received by both claimants in Burundi, the Board finds that they face a serious possibility of persecution were they to return to their country of origin.

[21]     The Board further finds that there is clear and convincing evidence that the State is unable or unwilling to provide them with adequate protection. In the case at hand, the agents of persecution are agents of the State such as the police, intelligence services and the Imbonerakure. As such, the claimants cannot reasonably receive any kind of State protection. The claimants have rebutted the presumption of State protection in this particular case.

[22]     The Board finally analyzed whether the claimants could avail themselves of an internal flight alternative within Burundi. However, because they face persecution from State agents who control the entire country, they could not safely relocate anywhere. State authorities and Imbonerakure have demonstrated that they have the interest and ability to track down any presumed political opponent. Thus, they do not have a viable internal flight alternative.

[23]     Based on this analysis, the Board reiterates that the claimants are “Convention refugees” and their claims are accepted.