Denmark - Refugee Appeals Board’s decision of 6 March 2018
Keywords:
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Country of origin information
Description
"Information used by the Member States authorities to analyse the socio-political situation in countries of origin of applicants for international protection (and, where necessary, in countries through which they have transited) in the assessment, carried out on an individual basis, of an application for international protection.” It includes all relevant facts as they relate to the country of origin at the time of taking a decision on the application, obtained from various sources, including the laws and regulations of the country of origin and the manner in which they are applied, regulations of the country of origin, plus general public sources, such as reports from (inter)national organisations, governmental and non-governmental organisations, media, bi-lateral contacts in countries of origin, embassy reports, etc. This information is also used inter alia for taking decisions on other migration issues, e.g. on return, as well as by researchers. One of the stated aims of the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) is to progressively bring all activities related to practical cooperation on asylum under its roof, to include the collection of Country of Origin Information and a common approach to its use. |
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Personal circumstances of applicant
Description
The range of factors such as background, gender, age, and individual position which must to be taken into account in the assessment of an application for international protection per Article 4(3)(c) of the Qualification Directive. |
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Relevant Documentation
Description
“All documentation at the applicants disposal regarding the applicant's age, background, including that of relevant relatives, identity, nationality(ies), country(ies) and place(s) of previous residence, previous asylum applications, travel routes, identity and travel documents and the reasons for applying for international protection.” |
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Well-founded fear
Description
One of the central elements of the refugee definition under Article 1A ofthe1951 Refugee Convention is a “well-founded fear of persecution”: "Since fear is subjective, the definition involves a subjective element in the person applying for recognition as a refugee. Determination of refugee status will therefore primarily require an evaluation of the applicant's statements rather than a judgement on the situation prevailing in his country of origin. To the element of fear--a state of mind and a subjective condition--is added the qualification ‘well-founded’. This implies that it is not only the frame of mind of the person concerned that determines his refugee status, but that this frame of mind must be supported by an objective situation. The term ‘well-founded fear’ therefore contains a subjective and an objective element, and in determining whether well-founded fear exists, both elements must be taken into consideration." |
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Refugee Status
Description
The recognition by a Member State of a third-country national or stateless person as a refugee. |
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Sexual orientation
Description
"Sexual orientation refers to: ‘each person’s capacity for profound emotional, affectional and sexual attraction to, and intimate relations with, individuals of a different gender or the same gender or more than one gender’." According to Article 10(1)(d) of the Qualification Directive: “depending on the circumstances in the country of origin, a particular social group might include a group based on a common characteristic of sexual orientation. Sexual orientation cannot be understood to include acts considered to be criminal in accordance with national law of the Member States: Gender related aspects might be considered, without by themselves alone creating a presumption for the applicability of this Article” |
Headnote:
The applicant, an ethnic Kurd and Sunni Muslim from Kirkuk, Iraq, became aware of his sexual orientation when he was 20/22 years of age and has since had relations with several men and during a longer period worked as a prostitute.
The Refugee Appeals Board accepted the applicants account and found that the applicant as a Kurd from Northern Iraq, according to country of origin information, would risk persecution if he was to return to Iraq and live openly as a homosexual. Consequently, the applicant was granted refugee status under the Danish Aliens Act art. 7 (1).
Facts:
The applicant, born in 1970, is an ethnic Kurd and Sunni Muslim from Kirkuk, Iraq. He entered Denmark in December 2015 and applied for refugee status. He stated that he feared if he returned to Iraq he would be killed by the Iraqi authorities or his family as he was homosexual.
In support of his application the applicant explained that he became aware of his sexual orientation when he was 20/22 years of age but in Iraq he could not practice his sexual orientation openly. When 12 years old he began to take interest in womenswear. His first sexual relation with a man took place in the beginning of the 1990s. Since then he has had relations with several men often older than the applicant and during a longer period worked as a prostitute. After his arrival in Denmark the applicant has felt more free to practice his homosexuality. The applicant feels more like a woman but has been reluctant to talk about his gender identity.
The Danish Immigration Service rejected the asylum application in March 2017.
Decision & reasoning:
The account of the applicant has been established by the Refugee Appeals Board.
The Board emphasised that the applicant during his stay in Denmark has been in contact on a regular basis with LGBT Asylum which in statements of 3 January 2016 and 7 February 2017 has informed about the applicant’s activities including his participation in Aarhus Pride and Copenhagen Pride. Further, the Board emphasised a statement from the Danish Red Cross that the applicant due to harassment was transferred to the women’s department of the Asylum Centre in Jelling. The Board accepted that the applicant had sexual relations with a man in Denmark and not would be able to live in an open homosexual relationship in Iraq.
Referring to country of origin information the Board found that the applicant, a Kurd from Northern Iraq would be in risk of persecution as per the Danish Aliens Act art. 7 (1) if he returned to Iraq and lived openly as a homosexual. Consequently, the applicant was granted refugee status under the Danish Aliens Act art. 7 (1).
Outcome:
The applicant was granted refugee status under the Danish Aliens Act Art. 7 (1)
Cited National Legislation:
| Cited National Legislation |
| Denmark - The Danish Aliens Act Art. 7 (1) |
Other sources:
The Refugee Appeals Board emphasised statements from the Danish organisations LGBT Asylum and Red Cross Asylum.