ILGA updates its surveys of law criminalising and protecting same-sex relationships

Date: 
Friday, October 4, 2013

In May, the International Lesbian and Gay Association updated its world survey on laws criminalising and protecting same-sex relationships, entitled "State-Sponsored Homophobia". The report includes a short note arguing that the absence of criminalisation of homosexual activity does not demonstrate the absence of risk of persecution in a give country. The note explains that previous editions of the report have been used in refugee determination hearings as evidence that there was no risk of persecution for lesbian and gay applicants from countries where there was no express legal provision criminalising homosexual activity, and urges legal professionals to use it carefully and rely on accurate country of origin information when dealing with asylum claims of LGBT applicants.

The report is available on ILGA's website.


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Keywords: 
Country of origin information
Sexual orientation
Tags: 
NGO