Al-Fatiha Applauds Australia High Court Decision Granting Refugee Status to
Sexual Minorities
LGBTIQ Muslims Call on Nations around the World to
Respect Refugee Rights of Sexual and Gender Minorities
Al-Fatiha
Foundation, December 10, 2003
Media Contact: Faisal Alam, founder & director
US Cell: 202-271-0067
Email: gaymuslims@yahoo.com
Al-Fatiha Foundation, a US-based organization dedicated
to supporting and empowering Muslims who are sexual and gender minorities,
around the world, applauded the High Court of Australia, today, for ruling
that persecution based on sexuality could be grounds for refugee status.
In a historic decision, which is considered to be the
worlds-first, the High Court of Australia ruled in a 4-3 decision that gay
asylum-seekers fleeing sexual persecution are on par with people fleeing
religious or political persecution.
The case involved a gay Bangladeshi couple that has lived
together since 1994. They fled Bangladesh in February 1999 after they had been
ostracized by their families and had been mobbed and beaten over their sexual
orientation. The Australian Refugee Review Tribunal ruled they were not
entitled to refugee status because they could keep their sexuality secret by
being closeted and that there was no proof that they would be imprisoned upon
their return to Bangladesh.
The International Lesbian and Gay Association report that
Bangladesh does not criminalize same-sex behavior outright. Rather the country
follows British colonial law to condemn sex acts that are deemed
“unnatural.” Section 377 of the Penal Code provides: “Whoever
voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man,
woman or animal, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with
imprisonment of either description for a term which may be extend to ten
years, and shall also be liable to fine”.
Although there have not been any reported cases of sexual
or gender minorities being persecuted solely because of their sexuality or
gender, male sex workers and transgender people are routinely harassed by
local police in Bangladesh. Additionally violence that is perpetuated by
family members, community leaders and religious institutions is often far
worse than being arrested by the police.
The Washington Blade, a gay and lesbian publication in
Washington DC, reported in August 1997 that the (formerly known as)
Immigration and Naturalization Service granted political asylum to a
Bangladeshi gay man who was threatened with stoning by Islamic extremists in
his home city of Dhaka. In his affidavit, the man also reported being raped by
police, forced into electroshock treatment and ordered by his family to enter
into an arranged marriage. The Embassy of Bangladesh called the man’s story
“concocted”, saying there is no such thing as execution by stoning in
Bangladesh.”
Al-Fatiha called on nations around the world to follow
the lead of the High Court of Australia, noting that under international law
individuals who flee their native country and seek asylum in a country other
than their origin, must be protected. The 1951 Convention relating to the
Status of Refugees notes “countries may not forcibly return refugees to a
territory where they face danger or discriminate between groups of
refugees.”
The United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR)
defines a refugee as “a person who ‘owing to a well-founded fear of being
persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a
particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of his
nationality, and is unable to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail
himself of the protection of that country...’”
Additionally, the UNHCR notes “homosexuals may be
eligible for refugee status on the basis of persecution because of their
membership of a particular social group.” “It is the policy of UNHCR that
persons facing attack, inhumane treatment, or serious discrimination because
of their homosexuality, and whose governments are unable or unwilling to
protect them, should be recognized as refugees.”
Asylum law in the United States does not protect sexual
and gender minorities outright, but many lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender people have sought and won asylum in the United States. In cases
involving individuals fleeing predominantly Muslim countries, Al-Fatiha has
offered letters of support and affidavits to validate the persecution that
many face in their countries of origin.
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