{"id":1109772,"date":"2023-06-28T22:30:00","date_gmt":"2023-06-28T22:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/castancentre.com\/?p=6084"},"modified":"2023-06-28T22:30:00","modified_gmt":"2023-06-28T22:30:00","slug":"lgbtq-people-are-facing-increasing-persecution-globally-but-refugee-status-is-still-extremely-hard-to-get","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2023\/06\/28\/lgbtq-people-are-facing-increasing-persecution-globally-but-refugee-status-is-still-extremely-hard-to-get\/","title":{"rendered":"LGBTQ+ people are facing increasing persecution globally, but refugee status is still extremely hard to get"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Paula Gerber<\/strong><\/p>\n

The newly passed Anti-Homosexuality Act<\/a> in Uganda has made a country that was already dangerous for LGBTQ+ people truly treacherous. <\/p>\n

The new law includes the death penalty for the so-called offence of \u201caggravated homosexuality<\/a>\u201d, defined as same-sex relations involving someone who is HIV positive or under the age of 18.<\/p>\n

Many countries around the world are moving towards decriminalising same-sex relations (most recently Barbados<\/a>, Singapore<\/a> and the Cook Islands<\/a>). Others, however, are seeking to impose harsher laws. <\/p>\n

For example, in\u00a0Tanzania<\/a>, the leader of the women\u2019s wing of the government has called for the castration of men convicted of same-sex related offences.\u00a0Ghana<\/a>, meanwhile, appears to have watered down a draconian anti-gay bill, but only after US Vice President Kamala Harris expressed concerns about it ahead of her visit.<\/p>\n

This increasing hostility towards LGBTQ+ people in some African nations is causing many\u00a0to flee<\/a>. But gay and gender-diverse people have historically faced enormous obstacles finding refuge abroad. Today, they remain among the\u00a0most vulnerable and marginalised<\/a>of all asylum seekers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

LGBTQ+ Ugandans have few options <\/strong><\/p>\n

For LGBTQ+ Ugandans, finding a safe haven is not easy when four of the five countries that border Uganda also criminalise same-sex sexual conduct (South Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of the Congo). <\/p>\n

Kenya is the most common destination for asylum seekers fleeing Uganda. However, there\u2019s been a backlash<\/a> against LGBTQ+ people in that country after the Supreme Court recently ruled that discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation violated the constitution.<\/p>\n

LGBTQ+ Ugandans in one Kenyan refugee camp reported facing daily hostilities, saying<\/a> the situation there is \u201cas terrible as you can imagine\u201d.<\/p>\n

There are now increasing calls<\/a> in western countries to open their doors to LGBTQ+ refugees from Uganda, but even in countries with progressive gay rights laws, the process is not so simple. <\/p>\n

In Australia, for example, just 1,100 asylum seekers were granted a protection visa because of their sexual orientation from 2018-23. This is barely a drop in the ocean of the reported need. The LGBTQ+ advocacy group\u00a0Rainbow Railroad<\/a>\u00a0says it receives an average of 10,000 requests for assistance a year from LGBTQ+ people fleeing persecution.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What international refugee treaties say<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 1951 Refugee Convention<\/a> is the leading international treaty governing the rights of people seeking asylum. When it was drafted, however, homosexuality was still a crime in a majority of countries. As a result, LGBTQ+ people are not explicitly protected by the convention, even today.<\/p>\n

The convention defines<\/a> a refugee as a person who has a well-founded fear of persecution based on<\/p>\n