Supreme Court denies refugee status for bisexual Ugandan woman

Posted on : 2018-01-09 18:01 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
Legal observers concerned that sexual orientation is failing to be considered by justices
The Supreme Court
The Supreme Court

A bisexual Ugandan woman’s application for refugee status failed to clear the Supreme Court hurdle. It marks the second time a lower-court verdict in favor of recognizing refugee status for an LGBT individual was reversed by the Supreme Court, after a case last year involving a gay Egyptian man.

The Supreme Court’s first division under Hon. Justice Kim Shin announced on Jan. 7 that it had reversed a ruling recognizing the refugee status of 29-year-old Ugandan “A” and returned the case to Seoul High Court. In the case’s second trial in June 2017, the court ruled to acknowledge A’s refugee status, noting that “sexual minorities are subject to crime and discrimination in Uganda” and arguing “plausibility to A’s claims that she was sexually assaulted by a police officer after being arrested for homosexuality.”

But in its decision, the Supreme Court noted “inconsistencies in [A’s] testimony about the time of her first sexual encounter” and the “possibility that the claims of sexual assault by a police officer could be false.” In short, the justices concluded that A’s claims of being persecuted for her LGBT status could not be taken at face value.

In July 2017, the Supreme Court reversed an appellate court ruling acknowledging refugee status for a 27-year-old Egyptian man identified by the initial “B” on the grounds that he had “not announced his sexual orientation to the outside or actively engaged in activity related to homosexuality.” Critics at the time complained that the decision implied a person could only be recognized as gay if he or she “actively engaged in homosexuality,”

Legal observers voiced concerns that the Supreme Court may be ignoring the special nature of refugee applications based on sexual orientation. While evidence in the form of certificates or reports is relatively easy to secure in cases of political or religious persecution, cases of LGBT persecution rely on accounts based on the applicant’s recollections.

“Based on the Supreme Court’s logic about ‘not being able to trust the statements,’ it would be extremely difficult for any LGBT refugee applications to be granted in the future,” said a senior judge at one local court.

Observers also said it was unreasonable to use past experiences with persecution to judge the possibility of it happening in the future.

“Even if past experiences with persecution are just a form of indirect basis supporting the likelihood of persecution occurring upon returning home, it is not in accord with the aims of the Refugee Convention [for the Supreme Court] to demand that [refugee applicants] have actual experiences of persecution,” said attorney Kim Ji-rim.

By Hyun So-eun, staff reporter

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]

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