1709163 (Refugee)

This matter concerned an appeal by a male citizen of Lebanon against the Tribunal's decision not to grant him a protection visa. The applicant claimed he feared returning to Lebanon due to sectarian conflict in his home neighbourhood of Tebanneh, Tripoli, and because his wife, an Australian citizen, would be endangered if they travelled together. He sought a protection visa to remain in Australia with his wife.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the applicant met the criteria for a protection visa under section 36(2)(a) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth), specifically whether he was a refugee with a well-founded fear of persecution. The court also considered, by implication, the complementary protection criterion under section 36(2)(aa), which applies if the refugee criterion is not met but there is a real risk of significant harm upon removal.

The Tribunal found that the applicant did not satisfy the criterion in section 36(2)(a). While acknowledging the sectarian conflict in Tripoli, the Tribunal implicitly determined that the applicant had not established a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion. Furthermore, the Tribunal's decision suggests it was not satisfied that the applicant would suffer significant harm as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of being removed to Lebanon, nor that he could not reasonably relocate within Lebanon to an area where such risks would not be faced.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant a protection visa.