1500034 (Refugee)

This matter concerned an application for a Protection Visa by two applicants, a mother and her son. The dispute before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (the Tribunal) centred on the applicants' claims of persecution and statelessness should they be returned to Lebanon. The first applicant claimed statelessness and an inability to access essential services in Lebanon, while the second applicant, the mother, asserted that she and her son would face severe consequences due to the son being born outside of marriage, including violence from her family, social and economic marginalisation, and even death.

The Tribunal was required to determine the credibility of the second applicant's evidence regarding the circumstances of her son's conception and the potential dangers they would face upon return to Lebanon. Specifically, the court needed to assess whether the second applicant's account of her relationship with the child's father, her subsequent pregnancy, and the claimed threats to her and her son's safety were sufficiently credible to warrant the grant of a Protection Visa. The Tribunal also had to consider the first applicant's claim of statelessness and its implications for his ability to reside in Lebanon.

The Tribunal's reasoning focused on the second applicant's testimony, which was characterised by inconsistencies and a lack of specific detail regarding the conception of her son. The applicant struggled to provide clear answers about the identity of the father, the nature of their relationship, and the circumstances surrounding their encounters. Her explanations regarding her relative's presence and intoxication during the alleged encounters also raised questions about her credibility. The Tribunal noted that the applicant expressed concerns about privacy when asked for further details, but was informed that such questions were relevant to assessing her credibility. The Tribunal was therefore tasked with evaluating whether the applicant's evasiveness and the vagueness of her evidence undermined her claims of fear and persecution to the point where the Protection Visa should be refused.