1506832 (Refugee)

This matter concerned an application for review of a delegate of the Minister for Immigration's decision to refuse to grant Protection visas to three applicants. The first applicant, a national of Lebanon, claimed she feared harassment, kidnapping, and death by armed militia groups, Amal and Hezbollah, who she alleged were responsible for her husband's death. She also claimed these groups, along with women in her district, harassed her and her children and attempted to force them to change their religion. The second and third applicants, the children of the first applicant, were stateless and former residents of Lebanon.

The legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the applicants met the criteria for a Protection visa under section 36 of the Migration Act 1958. Specifically, the Tribunal had to determine if Australia had protection obligations towards the applicants under the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (the Refugees Convention), or under the complementary protection criterion. This involved assessing whether the applicants had a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, or if there was a real risk of significant harm if they were removed from Australia.

The Tribunal considered the applicants' claims regarding past harassment and fear of future persecution by militia groups in Lebanon, as well as the statelessness of the children. However, the Tribunal was not satisfied that any of the applicants met the criteria for a Protection visa under section 36(2)(a) or (aa) of the Act. Consequently, they could not satisfy the related criteria under section 36(2)(b) or (c).

The Tribunal affirmed the delegate's decision not to grant the applicants Protection visas.