LB (Article 3 – Monrovia – Security)
| Jurisdiction | England & Wales |
| Judge | Ms. D. K. GILL,Vice President |
| Judgment Date | 28 April 2004 |
| Neutral Citation | [2004] UKIAT 299 |
| Date | 28 April 2004 |
| Court | Immigration Appeals Tribunal |
[2004] UKIAT 299
IN THE IMMIGRATION APPEAL TRIBUNAL
Ms. D. K. Gill (Vice President)
Mrs. J. Holt
For the Appellant: Mr. B. Nauman, of Counsel, instructed by Duncan Lewis & Co. Solicitors.
For the Respondent: Mr. P. Deller, Senior Home Office Presenting Officer.
LB (Article 3 — Monrovia — Security) Liberia CG
The Appellant (a national of Liberia, born on 3rd May 1983, who entered the United Kingdom illegally on 17th October 2002) has appealed, with permission, against the determination of Mr. G M Perry, an Adjudicator, who (following a hearing on 11th July 2003 at Hatton Cross) dismissed his appeal on asylum and human rights grounds against the Respondent's decision of 28th November 2002 to give directions for his removal to Liberia.
The Respondent disputed the Appellant's nationality. The Adjudicator accepted that the Appellant is a Liberian national.
Given the terms of the grounds of application and the terms in which permission to appeal was granted, the issues before us are whether the Appellant's removal to Monrovia would be in breach of his rights under Articles 2 or 3, bearing in mind the general security situation in Monrovia and the humanitarian conditions in Monrovia.
The Tribunal in its reported decision in [2003] UKIAT 00164T (Liberia) considered the issue of safety in Monrovia and concluded that Monrovia is safe. In that case, the Tribunal did not consider whether the general humanitarian conditions in Monrovia are such as to give rise to a breach of Article 3.
This Determination is being reported because:
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(a) with regard to the security situation in Monrovia, we have had our attention drawn to a report from UNHCR dated 8th August 2003, which was not before the Tribunal in the 164 T case.
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Our conclusion on the security situation is set out at paragraph 17.12 below.
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(b) we consider whether the general humanitarian conditions in Monrovia are such that removal to Monrovia would give rise to a breach of Article 3.
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Our conclusion on the general humanitarian conditions is set out at paragraph 18.6 below.
The Appellant's accounts : The Appellant is a Muslim by religion. He was born in Foya in Liberia. His mother is a Mandingo by ethnic origin. He claimed to have experienced problems in Liberia on account of his father's involvement with the Liberia Action Party (LAP) and his father's former position as a town warden. He claimed that his father was replaced by a new chief warden, after Charles Taylor came to power. He claimed that he and his family had problems with rebels fighting against the government of Charles Taylor, when the rebels attacked Foya. He claimed that, when government troops returned to the area, he and his family also had problems from the government troops because the new chief warden reported to them that the family's home was a base for the rebels. He claimed that his parents were shot by the government troops and that he and his brother managed to escape. He claimed to fear persecution from the government troops or the rebels. He also claims to fear persecution because of his Mandingo ethnic origin.
The Adjudicator's Determination : The Adjudicator rejected the Appellant's accounts of his alleged problems in Liberia on account of his father's political association or position as a town warden. It is clear from paragraphs 32 to 38 of the Determination that the Adjudicator did not believe the Appellant's story. He found that the Appellant's accounts of the problems facing his family had been free of any reference to any ethnic issue. It is clear, from paragraph 39 of the Determination, that the Adjudicator did not accept that the Appellant had ever suffered any problems on account of his half-Mandingo ethnic origin.
We quote paragraphs 40, 41 and 42 of the Determination:
- Given these facts I find that the Appellant has no well-founded fear of persecution were he to return to Liberia. I do not find that such a return, subject to my observation below, would be unreasonable or unduly harsh. 41. I bear in mind the submissions made in relation to Article 3 of the ECHR and the Appellant's right not to suffer torture or inhuman or degrading treatment and for the reasons set out I do not find that to return the Appellant to the [sic] Liberia would cause the United Kingdom to be in breach of its obligations under the Convention or at all. 42. I am still mindful of the daily news that emerges of the situation in Liberia. It is clear that the situation is unstable and there is considerable loss of life - much of it civilian. Whilst I have found that the Appellant has neither established a well-founded fear of persecution nor engaged the articles of the ECHR I invite the Respondent to consider whether it would [sic] appropriate, in all the circumstances, to suspend its power to give removal directions.
In the grounds of application , it is asserted that the Adjudicator's recommendation that the Respondent suspend removal directions is an acknowledgement of a real risk of Article 3 ill-treatment and that the Adjudicator therefore erred in dismissing the human rights appeal. It is asserted that the Adjudicator had failed to deal with the submission made to him that, if the Appellant's human rights appeal were to be allowed, then (absent a challenge to the Adjudicator's decision) the Appellant would have been granted humanitarian protection for a specified period, under a caution that, if the situation changes, he would be liable to be removed.
At the hearing before us, both parties agreed that the Adjudicator had erred in his assessment of the risk on return in relation to the Article 3 claim – firstly, because he had apparently taken into account “daily news” reports which were not adduced to him by way of evidence; and secondly, because his recommendation that the Respondent suspends removal directions undermines his finding that removal would not be a breach of the Appellant's Article 3 rights.
We drew Mr. Nauman's attention to the fact that the UNHCR report is dated 8th August 2003 – i.e. only four days after the arrival on 4th August 2003 of the peacekeeping troops in Monrovia. Furthermore, we noted that the UNHCR report appears to provide a general history of the conflict, and the human rights situation, in Liberia since December 1989. We asked Mr. Nauman to draw our attention to any parts of the UNHCR report which specifically deal with the situation in Monrovia since the arrival of the peacekeeping troops on 4th August 2003.
With regard to safety in Monrovia, Mr. Nauman submitted that there is no information concerning human rights abuses in Monrovia since the arrival of the peacekeeping troops. In his submission, one can only assume that the arrival of the troops means that protection is available. Mr. Nauman referred us to the following parts of the UNHCR's report (page numbers refer to the Appellant's bundle) and the following parts of the CIPU Report dated October 2003:
page 11E Reports from IDPs indicate serious maltreatment of displaced persons both within
para 19 Monrovia and in the counties by all sides of the conflict, but particularly by the
(UNHCR) Government-allied forces. Reports continue to be made of systematic lootings, extortion, harassment and intimidation within Monrovia and the rest of the country. IDPs are robbed and forced to labour, oftentimes subjected to sexual abuse.
page 11F There are consistent allegations of abductions for forced labour or sexual slavery
para 22 and forced recruitment by all parties in the conflict, especially government allied
(UNHCR) militia. Humanitarian agencies have documented many incidents of forced abduction of young men and women from displaced persons and refugee camps, some of which have implicated Government troops. As of the start of the year and towards the recent escalation of the conflict, abductions from IDP and refugee camps took place on a seemingly regular basis with camp residents reporting such incidents as their major concern. Abductees were allegedly used for purposes of porterage, sexual slavery, or other forms of forced labour. Forced recruitment is also known to have taken place in several locations and even within Monrovia in broad daylight, purportedly by Government allied forces.
(our emphasis)
page 11F This states that crippling poverty, multiple displacements and continuous war has
para 24 decimated Liberia's health infrastructure. At the height of the recent attacks on
(UNHCR) Monrovia there was not a single public hospital functioning in the whole of Liberia. In addition, the continuing conflict and looting of relief items has greatly reduced the capacity of the humanitarian community to respond to the current challenges in the health sector.
para 5.18 This states that there has been a reduction in violence in areas where peacekeepers
CIPU report have been deployed, particularly in Monrovia, but the situation remains tense.
para 6.30 ……… There have also been incidents of rape, and theft from IDPs is common. Both
CIPU Report forces loyal to the Government and rebels have committed these crimes, which appear to have been mainly perpetrated by members of the various militias.
para 6.52 On 4th August 2003, the first units of the peacekeeping forces began into arrive.
CIPU Report Both rebel and Government forces have withdrawn from Monrovia, and are allowing peacekeepers to operate within the city.
para 6.53 However, this paragraph states that fighting is continuing in many areas. This
CIPU Report violence is marked by looting and rape, mostly by rival Government and rebel militias.
para 6.54 In the country generally, violent clashes between rebel and Government supporters
CIPU Report has made the provision of aid and...
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