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2020 RLLR 15

Citation: 2020 RLLR 15
Tribunal: Refugee Protection Division
Date of Decision: January 14, 2020
Panel: R. Riley
Counsel for the Claimant(s): Lisa Winter-Card
Country: Haiti
RPD Number: TB8-23375
Associated RPD Number(s): TB8-23445, TB8-23446, TB8-23447
ATIP Number: A-2021-00540
ATIP Pages: 000103-0000106


DECISION

[1]       MEMBER: These reasons will stand as the decision in this case. The reasons given orally today will be rendered into writing and the claimants and their lawyer will receive the written version, within a matter of weeks.

Allegations

[2]       The claimants allege that they are citizens of Haiti.

[3]       The principal claimant, [XXX], was appointed designated representative for the minor claimants.

[4]       The principal claimant indicated that she was married to the father of the children, in 2004 and that serious abuse, including sexual assaults, began against her around 2007. The abuse continued up to her divorce in 2018, at which time the principal claimant and the minor claimants left Haiti.

[5]       The principal claimant has received indications that her former husband remains angry with her and intends to pursue her and cause harm to her.

[6]       The claimants state that the government of Haiti will not protect them and that there is no safe place for them anywhere in Haiti.

Identity

[7]       The claimants have provided their passports and their Haitian birth certificates. The panel is satisfied as to the Haitian citizenship and the persona) identities of the claimants.

Credibility

[8]       The principal claimant’ s testimony was straightforward and spontaneous and there was no inconsistency or contradictions between her Basis of Claim Form and her oral testimony.

[9]       The panel accepts the evidence of the principal claimant on the core issue of continued fear of domestic violence if she were to return to Haiti. The panel finds the evidence of the principal claimant to be credible and trustworthy.

Documentary Evidence

[10]     The evidence of the principal claimant was consistent with the objective evidence found in the National Documentation Package with respect to Haiti’s treatment of the victims of domestic violence.

[11]     So, for instance, at Item 2.1 of the NDP, which is the annual report of the U.S. Department of State, it’s indicated that domestic violence in Haiti, domestic violence against women in Haiti, is commonplace. It also states that, victims of sexual violence face major obstacles in seeking justice.

[12]     At Item 5.12 of the NDP, we have a report from the French office that deals with refugees. It quotes the Haitian Prime Minister, in 2015, as saying, in respect of a rape accusation against a prominent politician, that:

“Rape is a private matter and of interest only to the complainant.”

It goes on to say that:

“Domestic violence is commonplace, tolerated and hidden from view.”

[13]     Item 5.13 of the NDP is a report on domestic violence in Haiti. The report reminds us that violence based on gender is recognized throughout the world as a violation of a fundamental human right and at page 9 of that report, it indicates that only 11% of Haitian women involved in domestic violence had tried to contact police.

[14]     This is an illustration of the lack of confidence that Haitian women have in the police of Haiti to give them any kind of help.

[15]     The claimant was not in a position to provide any medical evidence as to abuse but the panel noted the e-mail from the claimant’s former husband, found at page 5 of Exhibit 5. The panel had reference to the translation found at page 4 of that exhibit and the panel notes that the ex-husband admits to sexual assault of his then wife and he provides the following justification:

“It was better for him to sexually assault his spouse than to cheat on her.”

[16]     The panel also notes the testimonials from persons in Haiti who knew both the husband and the wife and it’ s obvious that the former husband was very quick to anger when one reads pages 7 and 9 of Exhibit 5.

[17]     So, all in all, there’s a harmony which reflects the allegations found in the Basis of Claim Form and the documentary evidence. The documentary evidence supports the allegations made by the principal claimant and reinforces her credibility.

State Protection

[18]     Given the documentary evidence on domestic violence in Haiti, the panel is satisfied that it would not be reasonable for the principal claimant to ask the State of Haiti for protection.

Internal Flight Alternative

[19]     The principal claimant testified that, no matter where she settled in Haiti, her former husband still had the intention to pursue her and cause her harm, no matter where she would be in Haiti.

[20]     The panel is satisfied that the documentary evidence indicates that the government of Haiti has no interest in protecting its female citizens, throughout of all of its territory.

[21]     The panel concludes that it would not be reasonable for the principal claimant to seek an internal flight alternative, in Haiti.

Conclusion

[22]     Having considered all of the evidence, the panel determines that the claimant, [XXX], has satisfied her burden of establishing that there is a serious possibility of persecution on a Convention ground if she were to return to Haiti.

[23]     The panel, therefore, concludes that the claimant, [XXX], is a Convention refugee and the Division accepts her claim.

[24]     With respect to the minor children, the principal claimant was honest in admitting that they had not faced violence before and that the likelihood of abuse at the hands of their father was too remote for them to seriously claim protection in Canada.

[25]     No evidence was advanced to suggest that the minor claimants are at risk for a Convention reason, if they return to Haiti.

[26]     The panel is confident that the principal claimant will apply for permanent residence and include her children in such application

[27]     The minor claimants, [XXX], [XXX] and [XXX], are not Convention refugees and are not persons in need of protection and the Division rejects their claims.

[28]     I wish you the very best in the future, Madame.

 ——— REASONS CONCLUDED ———-