CCPR/C/128/D/2984/2017
5.5
The author notes that the State party concluded that he was a national of Rwanda,
because it considered the passport to be the only credible document that he submitted.
However, he reiterates that his voting card, his refugee documents and the copy of the new
Congolese passport have the same date of birth and country of origin, and constitute
evidence of his Congolese nationality. As he already explained several times to the State
party’s migration authorities, he only got the Rwandan passport for “illegal purposes”.
5.6
The author further notes that the State party did not deny the credibility of the
reports he had provided concerning the recruitment of soldiers by the M23 rebels in
Rwanda and Uganda. He further submits that he did not get a stamp on his passport when
he left Rwanda in November 2012 because he used his voting card, and he cannot use his
Rwandan passport to go back to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. At that time, he did
not have a Congolese passport, which was only issued in 2017. In order to travel between
Rwanda and Uganda, he used his student card and his Rwandan passport, as Rwandan
nationals do not need a visa to enter Uganda, whereas Congolese nationals have to pay 100
United States dollars to get one. The author confirms that his Rwandan passport contains
few stamps compared with the number of times he travelled to Rwanda because he was
using his student card to enter the country.
5.7
Concerning the written evidence of his work experience with the non-governmental
organization, the author reiterates that he did not have a permanent contract and that he was
paid on a daily basis. Consequently, he did not have evidence of that work experience. He
explains that all the threatening letters he and his family received were given to the police
for investigation. He also questions if the authorities would believe him even with the
letters, considering that they continue arguing that even his identity documents could have
been manipulated. In addition, the author argues that he already submitted the Ugandan
police report, demonstrating his insecurity in Uganda, to the authorities of Sweden.
5.8
Finally, the author explains that the decision to return to Goma, after his family
started receiving threats from the M23 rebels in Rwanda, was not his decision. It was a
decision made by his family, because they did not have anywhere else to go, other than
back home. The author states that at that time, Goma was controlled by government forces
in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, not by M23 rebels as the State party affirms.
State party’s additional observations
6.1
On 9 October 2019, the State party reported that the decision to expel the
complainant would become statute-barred on 15 April 2020. It submits that on 5 June 2018,
the author submitted an application to the Swedish Migration Agency for a residence permit
or a new examination of the issue of a residence permit pursuant to the Aliens Act, citing
impediments to enforcement. The author presented his Congolese passport in original in
order to prove his identity and nationality and claimed that there were strong grounds for
granting him international protection against his country of origin, the Democratic Republic
of the Congo, and that those grounds had not been previously assessed.
6.2
On 20 September 2019, the Swedish Migration Agency decided not to grant the
complainant a residence permit or a new examination of the issue of the residence permit.
The decision explains that the order to expel the author is final. For this reason, new
assertions can only be examined pursuant to the provisions of the Aliens Act regarding
impediments to the enforcement of the refusal-of-entry and expulsion orders. In making
such an assessment, the Agency takes into consideration only new exceptional
circumstances that have arisen in the case. In this regard, the Swedish Migration Agency
considered that the claim that the author is a citizen of the Democratic Republic of the
Congo has been previously assessed by the Agency and cannot be considered to constitute a
new circumstance under the Swedish Aliens Act.
6.3
The fact that the author had submitted a Congolese passport to the Agency was,
however, considered to constitute a new circumstance. The Agency furthermore noted that
both the Agency and the Migration Court had previously found that the author was a citizen
of Rwanda. It considered that, according to available country of origin information,
Rwanda recognizes dual citizenship. In view thereof, the author was still considered a
citizen of Rwanda and therefore the Agency found no reason to assume that Rwanda would
not be willing to accept the author upon his return there. An assessment of the
complainant’s grounds for asylum concerning the Democratic Republic of the Congo was
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