1903972 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of an applicant seeking a protection visa, who claimed to be a citizen of Ghana. The applicant's claim for protection was based on a land dispute between two clans, the [Clan 1] and [Clan 2] clans, in which he had been involved as an Asafoatse, a leader responsible for protecting the property and land of the [Clan 1] royal family. He asserted that this involvement placed him at risk of harm upon return to Ghana.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant met the criteria for a protection visa under section 36(2)(a) or section 36(2)(aa) of the Migration Act 1958. This required determining if the applicant was a refugee with a well-founded fear of persecution, or if there were substantial grounds for believing that, as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of removal to Ghana, he would suffer significant harm. The Tribunal was also required to consider relevant Ministerial Directions, Refugee Law Guidelines, Complementary Protection Guidelines, and country information.

The Tribunal found that the applicant was a citizen of Ghana and that Ghana was the relevant receiving country. While acknowledging the applicant's description of the clan dispute and his role within it, the Tribunal noted that the applicant had not been the victim of attempts on his life and that there were conflicting and inconsistent aspects to his evidence. The Tribunal concluded that the applicant did not have a well-founded fear of persecution, citing credibility concerns. Furthermore, the Tribunal found that the applicant did not satisfy the criteria for complementary protection, as there were no substantial grounds to believe he would suffer significant harm upon removal.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant a protection visa, finding that he did not meet the criteria under section 36(2) of the Migration Act 1958.