Date: 20000531
Docket: IMM-3309-99
BETWEEN:
JEAN-FRANÇOIS KONAN
Applicant
- and -
MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP
AND IMMIGRATION
Respondent
REASONS FOR ORDER
DUBÉ J.:
[1] This is an application for judicial review of a decision of the Convention Refugee Determination Division ("the Refugee Division") dated April 20, 1999, to the effect that the applicant is not a Convention refugee.
FACTS
[2] The applicant is a national of Ivory Coast. He is a Catholic, but his father is a pastor of a secret religious sect, the Soldiers of God. The applicant became a member of this sect at his father's request, but when he tried to leave it, his father threatened him with death. The applicant went to hide at the home of one of his uncles. At a family gathering, he condemned the sect's wrongdoings before the entire family, and the fact that his father was a member of the sect and had forced him to join it as well. The applicant's father attacked him physically and almost strangled him. The applicant left his country, and is basing his claim for refugee status in Canada on a well-founded fear of persecution.
[3] The Refugee Division found that the applicant's testimony was sincere and without contradiction, and that he felt a subjective fear. However, the Division also decided that it was up to the claimant to establish that there was no internal flight alternative in his country. This he did not do.
[4] The Refugee Division indicated that when the applicant's problem with his father arose, he went and took refuge with his aunt in Korogo, a region located north of Abidjan, six hours away by bus. The applicant had already lived with this aunt, who raised him to the age of seventeen. The panel emphasized that the applicant's father was unable to find him at his aunt's home. The panel also noted that Ivory Coast is not a country in a state of war or internal struggle. The applicant is thus able to travel within various regions of his country without running any risks.
[5] There is no reason to set aside this decision, which in every respect agrees with the relevant case law. A person who claims refugee status must show that he cannot find safe asylum anywhere in his country. Even if we take as true the applicant's claims that the Soldiers of God are pitiless and might even murder him if they found him, there is nothing in the evidence to indicate that this sect, which is located in Abidjan, has the wherewithal to reach the applicant in regions far removed from the capital.
[6] Consequently, this application for judicial review cannot be allowed.
[7] There is no question of general importance to certify.
OTTAWA, Ontario
May 31, 2000
Judge
Certified true translation
Martine Brunet, LL.B.
Date: 20000531
Docket: IMM-3309-99
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, THE 31st DAY OF MAY 2000
Present: THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE J.E. DUBÉ
Between:
JEAN-FRANÇOIS KONAN
Applicant
- and -
MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP
AND IMMIGRATION
Respondent
ORDER
The application for judicial review is dismissed.
Judge
Certified true translation
Martine Brunet, LL.B.
FEDERAL COURT OF CANADA
TRIAL DIVISION
NAMES OF COUNSEL AND SOLICITORS OF RECORD
COURT FILE No.: IMM-3309-99
| STYLE OF CAUSE: JEAN-FRANÇOIS KONAN |
v.
MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP
AND IMMIGRATION
PLACE OF HEARING: MONTRÉAL, QUEBEC
DATE OF HEARING: MAY 24, 2000
REASONS FOR ORDER OF DUBÉ J.
DATED: MAY 31, 2000
APPEARANCES:
| JEAN-FRANÇOIS FISET FOR THE APPLICANT |
SHERRY RAFAI FAR FOR THE RESPONDENT
SOLICITORS OF RECORD:
| JEAN-FRANÇOIS FISET FOR THE APPLICANT |
MONTRÉAL, QUEBEC
MORRIS ROSENBERG FOR THE RESPONDENT
DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL OF CANADA