EU court ruling backs gay African asylum bids

An EU court ruled Thursday that gays and lesbians persecuted in other countries have the right to asylum in Europe, as long as they fulfill certain conditions. The decision came in a case involving three African men seeking safe haven in the Netherlands.

The European Union's high court in Luxembourg ruled Thursday that refugees who face prosecution in their home countries because of homosexual acts have the right to asylum in the EU.

The case heard by the European Court of Justice centered around three gay men from Sierra Leone, Uganda and Senegal who had unsuccessfully fought to be given refugee status in the Netherlands. Homosexuality is a prosecutable crime in each of those countries, the court noted, with serious punishments that can include heavy fines or even life imprisonment in some cases.

Justices in Luxembourg have now ruled that gays and lesbians represent "social groups" in accordance with the Geneva Convention on refugees' rights. The court also found "it is a common ground that a person's sexual orientation is a characteristic so fundamental to his identity that he should not be forced to renounce it."

The court also said that "the existence of criminal laws specifically targeting homosexuals supports a finding that those persons form a separate group which is perceived by the surrounding society as being different."

The court was ruling on the cases of three gay African men - from Sierra Leone, Uganda, and Senegal - who were seeking asylum in the Netherlands. The Dutch Supreme Court had requested the Court of Justice for clarification on how to apply EU laws.

The Supreme Court said it will now proceed with the asylum cases and others brought on the same grounds since the cases were sent to Luxembourg in April 2012.

International treaties say people must prove they have a "well-founded fear" of persecution for reasons of race, religion, ethnicity or political opinion if they are to obtain asylum.

The court said it will be up to Europe's national authorities to determine whether the situation in an applicant's home country amounts to persecution, especially whether gay citizens are indeed sentenced to prison terms there. Many countries with anti-gay laws rarely apply them.

However, it still remains unclear how national asylum authorities should check a person's claim of being homosexual.

The Dutch Supreme Court in March also referred that problem to the judges, asking what the limits are for the "method of assessing the credibility of a declared sexual orientation" under EU laws. But the European Court of Justice isn't expected to rule on that issue before next year.