UNHCR's ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES FOR ASSESSING THE ...
UNHCR's ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES FOR ASSESSING THE ...
UNHCR's ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES FOR ASSESSING THE ...
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violence on a daily basis. Ordinary civilians are often the targets of violence, which<br />
includes car bombs, suicide attacks and improvised explosive devices. These methods of<br />
violence are usually targeted at chosen areas where civilians of specific religious or ethnic<br />
groups gather, including places of worship, market places and neighbourhoods. As clarified<br />
above, even where an individual may not have personally experienced threats or risks of<br />
harm, events surrounding his or her areas of residence or relating to others, may<br />
nonetheless give rise to a well-founded fear. There is also more specific targeting of<br />
individuals by extremist elements of one religious or political group against specific<br />
individuals of another, through kidnappings and execution-style killings. Rape is also<br />
increasingly being used as a means of persecution. Due to the vast number of actors who<br />
could perpetrate violence, an asylum-seeker’s failure to identify the perpetrator of violence<br />
should not be considered as detrimental to his/her credibility.<br />
Persecution is not limited, however, to acts which cause physical harm. Acts which restrict<br />
human rights can also amount to persecution, in particular, where the consequences are<br />
substantially prejudicial to the individual concerned. 728 Hence measures which restrict<br />
one’s ability to earn a living so that survival is threatened, would amount to persecution. 729<br />
Another type of restrictive measures is those which limit an individual’s fundamental right<br />
to freedom of religion, which could also amount to persecution. 730 This applies with regard<br />
to measures of a discriminatory nature which result in limitations on religious belief or<br />
practice, as well as forced conversion or forced compliance or conformity with religious<br />
practices, including, for example, certain clothing requirements or forms of behaviour. 731<br />
Consideration should be given to the nature of the restrictions, as well as their impact,<br />
including cumulative effect, on the individual concerned. It may be noted that throughout<br />
Iraq, discriminatory treatment by radical elements belonging to majority Muslim groups<br />
against moderate Muslims as well as against members of minority religious groups is<br />
increasingly taking on such serious proportions that it could be considered as amounting to<br />
persecution. In addition, non-Muslim as well as moderate Muslim women are coming<br />
under increasing pressure to abide by strict Islamic codes of behaviour which may be so<br />
restrictive as to be intolerable to the individuals concerned.<br />
In the three Northern Governorates, there is relatively greater religious and ethnic tolerance,<br />
and non-Muslims as well as members of non-Kurdish ethnic groups, are generally<br />
728 UNHCR, Handbook, para. 54, see above footnote 723.<br />
729 UNHCR, Handbook, para. 62-64, see above footnote 723.<br />
730 Article 18(3) of the ICCPR permits restrictions on the freedom to manifest one’s religion or beliefs if<br />
these restrictions “are prescribed by law and are necessary to protect public safety, order, health, or morals<br />
or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others.” Furthermore, such “limitations may be applied only for<br />
the purposes for which they were prescribed and must be directly related and proportionate to the specific<br />
need on which they are predicated. Restrictions may not be imposed for discriminatory purposes or applied in<br />
a discriminatory manner.” See Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 22, adopted on 20 July<br />
1993, UN Doc. CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.4, 27 September 1993, at paragraph 8, available in UNHCR’s<br />
Refworld at: http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?docid=453883fb22.<br />
731 Further guidance on the assessment of claims to refugee status based on religion can be found in<br />
UNHCR’s Guidelines on International Protection: Religion-Based Refugee Claims under Article 1A(2) of the<br />
1951 Convention and/or the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees, HCR/GIP/04/06, 28 April 2004,<br />
available in UNHCR’s Refworld at: http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?docid=<br />
4090f9794.<br />
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