Holland concedes that Iranian gays deserve asylum
20-October-2006
Tony Grew
Taken from
PinkNews.co.uk
The Dutch government have given the go-ahead for gay and lesbian Iranians to
claim asylum based solely on their sexual orientation.
In a move that will have significance for other EU states, the Dutch
government have retreated from their position earlier in the year that being
gay or lesbian was not in itself a reason to grant asylum to Iranians.
"The Dutch government's decision recognises the reality of persecution based
on sexual orientation in Iran, thus taking this labourious burden of proof
off the shoulders of gay or lesbian Iranian asylum seekers," said a
spokesman for Human Rights Watch.
"Injustices in application may persist, but the Dutch activists who pushed
for this change have won a major victory for openness and fairness – one
that other European states can learn from."
The deportation of failed gay and lesbian asylum seekers was temporarily
halted in 2005 after reports of torture and execution of homosexuals in
Iran.
The exiled Iranian gay rights group, Homan, claims the Iranian government
has executed at least 4,000 homosexuals since 1979.
In March, the Dutch government indicated it was ready to start sending
failed gay asylum seekers back to the Islamic Republic, claiming that, "for
homosexual men and women, it is not totally impossible to function in
society, although they should be wary of coming out of the closet too
openly."
After pressure from human rights organisations, the Dutch government have
conceded that LGBT people do face serious risks in Iran.
A statement for Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk's announced that Iranian
homosexual asylum seekers would no longer have to prove that they
individually faced persecution in Iran.
Now asylum seekers, "whose identity, nationality and homosexuality have been
confirmed, and for whom there is no counter-indication, do not have to
return to Iran."
In the UK at least two gay asylum seekers are known to have committed
suicide before being sent back to Iran. Hussein Nasseri, 26, was found dead
from a gunshot wound in July 2005, two weeks after his asylum claim was
refused.
Hussein, who was homosexual, fled from Iran in March 2000 after being
imprisoned for three months for his sexuality.
A Home Office Spokesperson told PinkNews.co.uk in July:
"We accept that homosexuals, in certain circumstances, are capable of
constituting a particular social group under the terms of the Convention.
"Asylum is granted when the individual demonstrates he/she has a
well-founded fear of persecution because of his/her membership of that
particular social group.
"If an applicant's claim does not meet the criteria set out in the Refugee
Convention, consideration will be given as to whether there are other
humanitarian or discretionary reasons why they should be allowed to remain
in the UK. This reflects our commitment to the European Convention on Human
Rights (ECHR)."
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