Netherlands - District Court of The Hague, NL19.29411

The Appellant is a stateless Palestinian who has applied for asylum in the Netherlands. The Appellant claims that Lebanon cannot be regarded as her country of usual residence. The court declares that Lebanon was rightly considered the Appellant’s country of usual residence and the exclusion provision of Article 1 (D) of the Refugee Convention applies.

Case status
Decided
Case number
NL19.29411
Citation
ECLI:NL:RBDHA:2020:2234
Date of decision
State
Court / UN Treaty Body
District Court of The Hague
Language(s) the decision is available in
Dutch
Applicant's country of birth
Palestine
Applicant's country of residence
Netherlands
Relevant Legislative Provisions
  • Article 1(D), paragraph 1 of the Geneva Convention on Refugees
  • Article 31, sub 1 of the Dutch Aliens Act 2000
Facts

The appellant is a stateless Palestinian, born in Lebanon. On 6 November 2018 she applied for asylum in the Netherlands, for a fixed period. The appellant argued that she left Lebanon because she faced discrimination and the living circumstances were difficult. She argued that it was difficult to find work. She also argued that leaving Lebanon was a precautionary measure and that she has had no difficulties regarding discrimination or finding work. The appellant also argued that Lebanon was an unsafe country, and that she is afraid that when the political situation in Syria stabilises, her brothers will be sent back to Syria to fulfil their military conscription.

Decision & Reasoning

According to the court, the defendant correctly considered Lebanon as the country of usual residence of appellant. The defendant was also not obliged to include the claimant's former residence in Syria from 2005 to 2011 when assessing whether Lebanon could be classified as the country of usual residence. In assessing the appellant’s habitual residence, the defendant rightly considered it relevant that the appellant was born in, and has spent most of her life in Lebanon.

Furthermore, defendant also states that appellant was a legal resident of Lebanon and had a residence permit. Therefore, the defendant was not wrong in considering that Lebanon was where appellant had her centre of main interests.

The statement of the appellant that the UNRWA does not provide help or assistance is unsuccessful. In the intention and the contested decision, the defendant rightly pointed out that the appellant's brother submitted a UNRWA document proving that she had protection. The defendant rightly concluded from this that the claimant actually received assistance from UNRWA immediately prior to or shortly before submitting her asylum application. The defendant also rightly established that the appellant voluntarily left Lebanon and that the appellant has no plausible case that UNRWA can no longer offer protection upon return. Therefore, the exclusion ground of Article 1 (D), first paragraph, of the Refugee Convention applies.

Furthermore, the defendant has not wrongly stated that the appellant has not demonstrated that she fears being prosecuted within the meaning of the Refugee Convention upon return to Lebanon. The defendant rightly pointed out that the appellant stated that she left Lebanon on a precautionary basis, that she personally did not experience discrimination there and neither did her family. The defendant has therefore successfully been able to establish that it is unlikely that the appellant will face discrimination to such a degree that her ability to exist will be limited to severely that it will be impossible to function socially.

Finally, the defendant has correctly argued that a procedure instruction is not actual legal policy, and that appellant was not disadvantaged by the application of procedure instruction WI 2019/13. The appellant did not contradict this at the hearing.

Outcome

The Court found that the application was rightly rejected as unfounded. The appeal is unfounded.