France must protect those persecuted because of their sexual orientation or gender identity

While the European Commission recalls the duty of Member States to provide asylum to LGBT people at risk and that the current President of France has pledged during the election campaign to ensure this right, the Inter-LGBT ARDHIS and the International Solidarity LGBT recall the need for France to improve reception and study of cases of people seeking asylum because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Recently questioned by MPs on a Euro Cypriot decision to expel an Iranian homosexual asylum seeker, the European Commission reaffirmed the obligation for Member States to "guarantee a refugee status to persons who are the subject of 'well-founded fear of persecution because of their membership in a particular social group, including a group with a characteristic sexual orientation'. "

During his election campaign, the future President of France, did not say anything else. Responding to the magazine Tetu in April 2007, he said: "if you are persecuted for your sexual orientation, you must have the right of asylum", and added: "The criteria used by OFPRA must be able to move on this point. And he concluded, "Being persecuted for sexuality, it is shocking and unacceptable. France needs to endorse this position every time a homosexual was tortured because he is gay."

Nice words!

The French is more raw. After an initial application for asylum in April 2006, rejected by OFPRA then by the Refugee Appeals Commission in May 2007, after a request for review last fall rejected in late December and early January brought a young Egyptian man arrested during an identity check very close to the deportation to his home country in early February. It is ultimately a medical decision that enabled him to remain in France and to be released. His fight to be regulated is not finished, however. It remains to convince the French authorities, which often confuse the fight against irregular immigration and the right of asylum.

Beyond this case, they are probably dozens of others each year who escape the vigilance of the support associations and are delivered to the arbitrariness of return to a real danger in their country of origin.

That is why the Inter-LGBT, the International Solidarity and ARDHIS strongly support LGBT people seeking asylum in France to escape persecution, state or private, which they may suffer or incur because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. They call on France to show great caution in treating such cases.

In case of homophobic, transphobic or lesbophobic persecution, the evidence is often very difficult to provide. Gay and transsexuals sometimes prefer discretion on the real reason for their request for protection in case they are forced to return to their country of origin and even to prevent compatriots already present in France learning of their sexuality. This requires that confidentiality is ensured, but also gives people the time to bring their story, and probably better training of OFPRA to LGBT issues.

The Inter-LGBT, the ARDHIS and Solidarité Internationale LGBT denounce the notion of safe country of origin and the priority review procedure associated with it. In the list of fifteen countries established by OFPRA on 12 June 2006, five penalize homosexual relations between consenting adults.

They ask that the temporary residence permit and temporary allocation waiting is automatically issued to asylum seekers, irrespective of the nature of the procedure (primary applicant or review reopening person from a country says "safe") to take into account the specific issues and difficulties in providing evidence of persecution.

In accordance with Article 6 of Directive 2004/83/EC, refugee status, under the conventional asylum or subsidiary protection, should be given to LGBT people who have been or risk being persecuted by the public authorities in their countries of origin (or some other non-state actor).

For the Inter-LGBT, the ARDHIS and LGBT International Solidarity, the effective protection of LGBT people seeking asylum would show the real commitment of France to the fight against homophobia, lesbophobia and transphobia in the world.