Italy: Insecurity and tension in Ivory Coast is justification for humanitarian protection

Date: 
Tuesday, February 4, 2020

On 4 February 2020, The Tribunal of Genoa granted humanitarian protection to an Ivorian applicant on the grounds of the current instability in his country of origin and his relevant integration into the Italian society.

The applicant left the Ivory Coast in 2014 due to a fear of persecution on the ground of his conversion to Christianity. The Court observed that, although the case did not satisfy the requirements of international protection, the applicant fled from the Ivory Coast after finding himself in a situation of severe deprivation due to the intense political and economic tensions. The conditions in the country had worsened since 2017, with an increase of sporadic violence and uncertainty around the future of the nation. In the event of return to his country of origin, the applicant would find himself in a situation of extreme vulnerability. This vulnerability should also be assessed in terms of a potential return to Libya, where the applicant stayed in substandard conditions prior to arriving in Italy.

The tribunal further noted, inter alia, that the applicant was committed to his integration in Italy: he had committed to learning Italian and attended professional training to increase his chance of finding a job. For these reasons, the Court found that the applicant's return to the Ivory Coast presented a risk and granted him humanitarian protection.

Thank you to Francesca Zalambani, Legal Assistant at ECRE, for assisting us with the summary. Based on an unofficial translation by the EWLU team.


This item was reproduced with the permission of ECRE from the ELENA Weekly Legal Update. The purpose of these updates is to inform asylum lawyers and legal organizations supporting asylum seekers and refugees of recent developments in the field of asylum law. Please note that the information provided is taken from publicly available information on the internet. Every reasonable effort is made to make the content accurate and up to date at the time each item is pusexblished but no responsibility for its accuracy and correctness, or for any consequences of relying on it, is assumed by ECRE.                                                

 

                                                     

 

Keywords: 
Humanitarian considerations
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