In France, the National Court of Asylum (CNDA) recognizes the existence in Togo of a “social group” of homosexual people, giving them the right to refugee status if they apply for it. The decision was taken on July 17 after examining the case of a Togolese man who fled his country because of his sexual orientation.
1 min
When the family of this thirty-year-old discovers his homosexuality, they tie him up and subject him to mistreatment for a week. Luckily, a friend intervenes and he manages to escape.
This week, National Court of Asylum Law acknowledged that the man risked persecution if he returned to Togo. He now benefits from refugee status in France.
The CNDA went further by considering the LGBT+ community in Togo as a social group, that is to say as a group sharing certain characteristics, a specific identity perceived as being different by the surrounding society or by institutions. And persecutions linked to belonging to a social group give rise to refugee status as defined by the Geneva Convention of 1951.
The Court emphasizes in its decision that a homosexual person in Togo faces one to three years in prison, may suffer arbitrary arrests, harassment by the police and discrimination in society. More generally, LGBT+ people, perceived as ” deviant “, thus experience difficulties in accessing employment, housing, education and health.
The CNDA’s decision will therefore benefit any Togolese, recognised as belonging to the LGBT+ social group, who requests protection from France.
Read also“A homophobic legal war”: in Africa, many countries are further tightening their anti-LGBT+ legislation