Case No. UKUT-00544-(IAC)

114. Dr Fatah identifies that security incidents in the southern governorates of Iraq are “rare” - with Thi-Qar, Missan, Qadissiya and Wassit being almost entirely free of violence for some years and the mainly Sunni governorate of Muthana being “basically empty”. There were more regular security incidents in Basra and Kerbala, although not on the scale of the incidents in other parts of Iraq. The evidence given by Dr Fatah in relation to the Southern governorates accords with that provided in the April 2015 CIG report at [1.3.29], which recalls the number of civilian fatalities in 2014 in Thi-Qar and Muthana as being eight and six respectively, Basra as having 128 such fatalities, and in Kerbala 200 fatalities. The combined population of the eight governorates is 6.7 million. 115. Our attention has not been drawn to any evidence contradicting that which we have summarised above and, as a consequence, we have no hesitation in concluding that the evidence before us does not disclose that there is a real risk of serious harm – as defined in Article 15(c) – for an ordinary civilian in any of the southern governorates; nor does a person’s ethnicity, religion or sex – whether taken of itself or cumulatively - increase the risk of serious harm to such person so as to engage Article 15(c). 116. Although we have found that Article 15(c) is not engaged for an ordinary civilian in the Southern governorates we are also required to consider issues of safety arising during the process of return to a person’s home area – this being part of the decision on status entitlement (