2118846 (Refugee)

This matter concerned an application for a protection visa by a person of Amhara ethnicity from Ethiopia. The applicant claimed to hold anti-government political opinions due to the government's treatment of the Wolkayte Amhara, and alleged that his wife and family had been targeted due to their ethnicity. He also recounted past experiences of detention, interrogation, and torture in 2010 and 2014. The review was before a Senior Member of the Tribunal.

The primary legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the applicant met the criteria for a protection visa under section 36(2)(a) of the Migration Act 1958, specifically whether he had a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race or political opinion, and alternatively, whether he met the complementary protection criterion under section 36(2)(aa) due to a real risk of significant harm upon removal to Ethiopia. The Tribunal was required to consider the current political and security situation in Ethiopia, including interethnic violence and the impact of the war in Ukraine on grain shortages.

The Tribunal considered extensive country information regarding the volatile political and security situation in Ethiopia, noting widespread human rights abuses by both government forces and armed groups, often along ethnic lines. It found that the applicant's Amhara ethnicity and his past political activities, including his public criticism of the Ethiopian government, placed him at a heightened risk of detention, interrogation, and harm upon return. The Tribunal was satisfied that protection was not available within Ethiopia and that relocation was not a reasonable option given the pervasive nature of the conflict and violence. The Tribunal concluded that there was a real chance the applicant would be subjected to serious harm for reasons of his political opinion and ethnicity, thus satisfying the definition of a refugee under section 5H of the Act.

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