1 Primátor mesta Nitry Nitra 30. 10. 2008 P O Z V Á ... - Mesto Nitra

NexusDecisions Applying Child-Sensitive ApproachNexus refers to the required causal link between persecution and one or more of the five statutorily protected groundsand can be established through direct or circumstantial evidence of a persecutor’s motive. 57 Nexus is one of the mostchallenging elements to prove in an asylum case, and is especially difficult for children because they may have limitedknowledge or understanding of the context in which their persecution occurs, or have difficulty articulating anyunderstanding that they do have. 58 Consequently, U.S. and UNHCR guidelines provide that in children’s cases objective,circumstantial evidence of the societal context can be particularly useful and can alone establish nexus. 59 Some judgesapply this framework. For example, an IJ relied on objective evidence of the status of women and children in Salvadoransociety and the reasons the state fails to protect them, and found that a Salvadoran boy suffered abuse on account ofmembership in a particular social group defined in part by his status as a child. According to the IJ, there was “amplecircumstantial evidence of a nexus between domestic violence and the social status of women and children in El Salvador,where such violence is endemic and reflects prevailing norms and beliefs regarding abused women and children.” 60Consequently, the IJ found it “reasonable to infer that the [abuser’s] behavior was influenced by the lack of protectionand societal attitudes towards women and children in a domestic relationship.” 61Another IJ found objective, circumstantial evidence sufficient to establish that a devout, Evangelical Salvadoran girl had awell-founded fear of persecution by gang members on account of her religion. As part of her church youth group, thegirl proselytized to youth in her community, encouraging them to join the church and not engage in crime. Gangmembers attacked and raped a girl from the applicant’s youth group, which terrified the applicant so much that she fled.The IJ found nexus based on testimony by a country conditions expert regarding gang dynamics and motivations and thecontext in which Salvadoran gang violence occurs, as well as the evidence of the rape of a girl similarly situated to theapplicant. 62from South/East Asia (excluding China) had the next highest number of cases found to have no nexus, 17 cases (16% of the total cases from that region).A linear regression analysis conducted by CGRS showed that nationality is indeed an important predictor for when a case from Latin America and theCaribbean region will be found to have no nexus. For example, a child from El Salvador, Guatemala, or Honduras has a 30–36% marginal probability of his/her case being found not to have a nexus, and a child from Mexico 20%, compared to 10% or lower probability of no-nexus for children from other countriesin the region. For both regions, Latin America and the Caribbean and South/East Asia (excluding China), the regression model found that the Asylum Officehearing the case is the biggest factor for predicting the marginal probability of a case being found to have no nexus. The ma rginal probability of a no-nexusfinding for Latin American and Caribbean cases ranged from 4% if the case was heard in Newark to 47% in Los Angeles (New York 15%; Arlington 19%; SanFrancisco 20%; Houston 23%; Chicago 25%; Miami 34%). The marginal probability of a no-nexus finding for South/East Asian (excluding China) casesranged from 7% in Newark to 35% in Arlington (Chicago 12%; New York and San Francisco 15%).59 For example, the DOJ in its Proposed Regulations of 2000 recognized that circumstantial evidence of patterns of violence against individuals similarlysituated to the applicant and the failure of the legal system to protect them is circumstantial evidence that is highly relevant to the nexus analysis. Asylumand Withholding Definitions, 65 Fed. Reg. 76588, 76593 (proposed Dec. 7, 2000); See, e.g., Sarhan v. Holder, 658 F.3d 649 (7th Cir. 2011); Matter ofKasinga, 21 I. & N. Dec. 357 (BIA 1996); Al-Ghorbani v. Holder, 585 F.3d 980 (6th Cir. 2009); See also Department of Homeland Security’s Position onRespondent’s Eligibility For Relief, Matter of R-A-, No. A73 753 922 (2004); Department of Homeland Security’s Supplemental Brief, Matter of L-R- (2009)(hereinafter DHS Brief in L-R-); 1998 INS CHILDREN’S GUIDELINES, supra note 24, at 21; 2009 UNHCR GUIDELINES, supra note 22. In addition, UNHCR advisesthat adjudicators should have a good understanding of a child applicant’s history, culture, and background in reaching a determination. See 1997 UNHCRUNACCOMPANIED CHILDREN GUIDELINES, supra note 23, at 8.10.60 CGRS Database Case 1097. UNICEF and other leading authorities on violence against women have long recognized that lack of leg al protection is one ofthe causes of domestic violence and has urged states to end impunity for violence against women and girls. See U.N. Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Domesticviolence against women and girls, 6 INNOCENTI DIGEST 8 (2000).61 CGRS Database Case 1097.62 CGRS Database Case 9741. See also CGRS Database Case 4829 (finding nexus between harm and social group of perceived homosexuals in case ofHonduran boy repeatedly raped by uncle and uncle’s friends based in part on circumstantial evidence regarding status of homosexuals in Honduras); CGRSDatabase Cases 6840 and 7072 (cases involving Honduran cousins who were raised by their grandfather – an outspoken gang critic – and whose familywas frequently threatened by gangs and some family members were murdered – two different IJs independently found nexus to a protected ground basedon expert testimony, as well as other circumstantial evidence, in particular attacks against family members).http://supportkind.org | http://cgrs.uchastings.edu14