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Gay Jamaican wins refugee status
Judge forces Refugee Board to review case after initial failure
Page 3, Aug 12, 2010,The Caribbean Camera, Toronto Canada, by Gerald Paul
A gay man from Jamaica has been granted refugee status in Canada on the basis of discrimination against him.
The Immigration and Refugee Board agreed with Marlon Cunningham when he said he feared persecution in his homeland because of his sexual preferences.
Persecution of gays in Jamaica is well documented.
Cunningham married a fellow Jamaican in July 2009 and is active in the Jamaican Canadian community.
He faced "cruel and unusual treatment or punishment if returned to Jamaica," the decision said.
However, in his original application for refugee status, he was turned down.
An appeal to the Federal Court determined that a member of the Immigration and Refugee Board failed to consider all the evidence at his hearing.
As such, Cunningham was granted another hearing last week, this one successful.
According to Justice Frederick Gibson, the Immigration and Refugee Board member did not consider information on the treatment of homosexuals in Jamaica.
"The failure to consider relevant evidence would be sufficient to grant a judicial review," Gibson said.
Judge forces Refugee Board to review case after initial failure
Page 3, Aug 12, 2010,The Caribbean Camera, Toronto Canada, by Gerald Paul
A gay man from Jamaica has been granted refugee status in Canada on the basis of discrimination against him.
The Immigration and Refugee Board agreed with Marlon Cunningham when he said he feared persecution in his homeland because of his sexual preferences.
Persecution of gays in Jamaica is well documented.
Cunningham married a fellow Jamaican in July 2009 and is active in the Jamaican Canadian community.
He faced "cruel and unusual treatment or punishment if returned to Jamaica," the decision said.
However, in his original application for refugee status, he was turned down.
An appeal to the Federal Court determined that a member of the Immigration and Refugee Board failed to consider all the evidence at his hearing.
As such, Cunningham was granted another hearing last week, this one successful.
According to Justice Frederick Gibson, the Immigration and Refugee Board member did not consider information on the treatment of homosexuals in Jamaica.
"The failure to consider relevant evidence would be sufficient to grant a judicial review," Gibson said.