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.
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, the National Court of Asylum acknowledged that the man was at risk of 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 be subject to 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.
Source: https://icilome.com/2024/07/les-personnes-lgbt-originaires-du-togo-pourront-obtenir-le-statut-de-refugie-en-france/