Refugee appeal based on the risk of an “honour killing”
Our team successfully brought a second refugee appeal before the Immigration and Protection Tribunal. The identified risk of harm was associated to the claimant’s grandfather who was a strict conservative Sikh with a history of violence. The second identified risk of harm was associated to the claimant’s ex-fiancé, who had developed an unhealthy fixation towards the claimant, which had endured for a period of 10 years.
The Tribunal determined that the claimant had established a well-founded fear of being persecuted under Articles 6, 7 and 23 of the ICCPR. Article 23 related to the claimant’s marriage in New Zealand and her grandfather’s efforts to arrange a separate marriage for her if she returned to India. Such a forced arrangement was identified as being a breach of Article 23 which seeks to protect a person’s free choice and full consent to enter into a marriage of their choosing. The evidence established that the claimant objected to an arranged marriage, which subjected her to a real and appreciable risk of being a victim of an “honour killing”, which are well documented instances in India.
Being satisfied that the claimant had a well-founded fear of harm, the Tribunal proceeded to assess whether there were convention reasons present to support the claim. The Tribunal concluded that her circumstances arose as a result of her gender (being a women) and indicated that this was a convention reason under “membership of a particular social group”. This categorisation falls within the broader interpretation of Article 1A(2) of the Refugee Convention.
Our immigration lawyers are specialised in refugee law, human rights law, and deportation. If you have concerns about returning to your home country, or you have been made liable for deportation, we encourage you to contact one of the team:
Simon Graham
Partner
SGG@YOUNGHUNTER.CO.NZ
Christine LeBeau
Senior Associate
CLL@YOUNGHUNTER.CO.NZ
Austin Lange
Solicitor
AXL@YOUNGHUNTER.CO.NZ
Suyoun Jung
Law Clerk
SYJ@YOUNGHUNTER.CO.NZ
