Situation of gays and lesbians and their partners in respect to asylum and immigration in the member states of the Council of Europe
Recommendation 1470
(2000)
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly debate on 30 June 2000 (24th Sitting) (see Doc. 8654, report of the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Demography, rapporteur: Mrs Vermot-Mangold). Text adopted by the Assembly on 30 June 2000 (24thSitting).
- Thesaurus
2. The Assembly is concerned by the fact that immigration policies in most
Council of Europe member states discriminate against lesbians and gays. In
particular, the majority of them do not recognise persecution for sexual
orientation as a valid ground for granting asylum, nor do they provide any form
of residence rights to the foreign partner in a bi-national same-sex
partnership.
3. Furthermore, the rules concerning family reunion and social benefits
usually do not apply to same-sex partnerships.
4. The Assembly is aware of a number of documented cases of persecution of
homosexuals in their countries of origin, including Council of Europe member
states.
5. The Assembly is of the opinion that homosexuals who have a well-founded
fear of persecution resulting from their sexual preference are refugees under
Article 1.A.2. of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees as
members of a particular social group, and consequently should be granted
refugee status. The present practice in some Council of Europe member states to
grant them leave to stay on humanitarian grounds may be detrimental to their
human rights, and cannot of itself be considered as a satisfactory
solution.
6. Moreover, the Assembly is aware that the failure of most member states to
provide residence rights to the foreign partner in a bi-national partnership is
the source of considerable suffering to many lesbian and gay couples who find
themselves split up and forced to live in separate countries. It considers that
immigration rules applying to couples should not differentiate between
homosexual and heterosexual partnerships. Consequently, proof of partnership
other than a marriage certificate should be allowed as a condition of
eligibility for residence rights in the case of homosexual couples.
7. Therefore the Assembly recommends that the Committee of Ministers:
7.1 instruct its appropriate committees:
a to hold exchanges of views and experience on
these subjects;
b to examine the question of recognition of homosexuals as members of a
particular social group in the understanding of the 1951 Geneva Convention with
a view to ensuring that persecution on grounds of homosexuality is recognised
as a ground for asylum;
c to develop guidelines for the treatment of homosexuals who are
refugees or members of a bi-national partnership;
d to initiate the setting up of a European system for data collection,
and for the documentation of abuses against homosexuals;
e to co-operate with, and support, groups and associations defending
the human rights of homosexuals in respect of asylum and immigration policies
in Council of Europe member states.
7.2 urge the member states:
a to re-examine refugee status determination procedures and policies
with a view to recognising as refugees those homosexuals whose claim to refugee
status is based upon well-founded fear of persecution for reasons enumerated in
the 1951 Geneva Convention and the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of
Refugees;
b to adopt criteria and guidelines dealing with homosexuals seeking
asylum;
c to ensure that the authorities responsible for the refugee status
determination procedure are well informed about the overall situation in the
countries of origin of applicants, in particular concerning the situation of
homosexuals and their possible persecution by state and non-state
agents;
d to review their policies in the field of social rights and protection
of migrants in order to ensure that homosexual partnership and families are
treated on the same basis as heterosexual partnerships and families;
e to take such measures as are necessary to ensure that bi-national
lesbian and gay couples are accorded the same residence rights as bi-national
heterosexual couples;
f to encourage the establishment of non-governmental organisations to
help homosexual refugees, migrants and bi-national couples to defend their
rights;
g to co-operate more closely with UNHCR and national non-governmental
organisations, promote the networking of their activities, and urge them to
systematically monitor the observance of the immigration and asylum rights of
gays and lesbians;
h to ensure that the training of immigration officers who come into
contact with asylum seekers and bi-national same-sex couples includes attention
to the specific situation of homosexuals and their partners.
