Ali v. Canada ( Minister of Citizenship and Immigration )
IMM-3404-95
McKeown J.
23/9/96
5 pp.
Application for judicial review of CRDD determination applicants, citizens of Afghanistan, not Convention refugees-First issue whether one of five applicants, nine-year-old girl, entitled to refugee status on same basis as mother, who was granted refugee status as part of group of educated women-If girl returned to Afghanistan, only way she could avoid being persecuted to refuse to go to school-However, education basic human right and Board directed to find she should be found to be Convention refugee-Board correctly rejected other female applicant, 75-year-old female, on basis not educated and would not be persecuted as educated woman-Second issue whether Board properly applied case of Salibian v. Canada (Minister of Employment and Immigration), [1990] 3 F.C. 250 (C.A.) with respect to differentiated risk or whether applicants as members of Sunni Tajiks group, had well-founded fear of persecution based on one of reasons stated in definition of Convention refugee-Board found all groups in Afghanistan both victims and perpetrators of human rights violations and that Sunni Tajiks not facing more or different difficulties than other groups in Afghanistan-Board's finding made within confines of third test, as set out by Décary J.A. in Salibian: situation of civil war not obstacle to claim provided fear not that indiscriminately felt by all citizens as result of civil war but that felt by applicant or group or even by all citizens on account of risk of persecution based on one of reasons stated in definition-Open to Board to find Sunni Tajiks not collectively targeted and that applicants could not succeed based on membership in group-Application allowed with respect to girl, dismissed with respect to other applicants-Question certified: Are refugee claimants excluded from the definition of Convention refugee if all groups in their country, including the group of which they are members, are both victims and perpetrators of human rights violations in the context of civil war?