1511094 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa made by an individual from Myanmar. The applicant, an ethnic Rakhine Buddhist monk, claimed to have a well-founded fear of persecution due to his political opinions and advocacy for minority rights, which he argued placed him at risk of harm from the Myanmar authorities.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant had established that he had a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of his political opinion, as required by section 36(2)(a) of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth). This involved assessing the credibility of his claims regarding his involvement in political protests, the risks he faced during those protests, and the potential for future harm should he be returned to Myanmar.

The Tribunal acknowledged that the onus was on the applicant to provide sufficient evidence to establish his claim, and that it was not required to make the case for him. However, after reviewing the applicant's evidence, including documents and his testimony about his participation in the 2007 Saffron Revolution protests, the physical assault he endured, and the subsequent disappearance of friends, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant had satisfied the criteria under section 36(2)(a) of the Act. The Tribunal found that the applicant's fear of persecution was well-founded and arose from his political opinion.

Consequently, the Tribunal remitted the decision under review for reconsideration, with a direction that the applicant satisfies section 36(2)(a) of the Act.