Council of Europe publish report on gender-related asylum

Event Date:

Friday, 13 August 2010

The Parliamentary Assembly Council of Europe’s Committee on Migration, Refugees and Population has published a report on gender-related asylum claims.

The report, which was released on 26 July, calls for member states to make further progress in adopting a gendered approach to asylum and to ensure consultation with refugee women when developing policy and planning programmes.

The report draws attention to the fact that asylum systems often view persecution through a male lens despite evidence that persecution experienced by women often differs from that experienced by men. It also recognises that certain forms of harm are more frequently or only used against women (gender-based violence) and that a woman may be persecuted specifically because of her gender (gender related persecution).

It invites the Parliamentary Assembly to call upon member states to ensure gender-based violence and gender-related persecution is appropriately taken into account in asylum determination processes and that asylum systems ensure gender sensitivity:

82. Generally, and when assessing asylum claims in particular, Council of Europe member states must not allow themselves any relativism: human rights violations or crimes against women can never be justified by reference to history, religion, tradition or culture. All Council of Europe member states should ensure that gender-specific violence and gender-related persecution are taken fully into account in asylum claims under the 1951 Geneva Convention

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84. The rapporteur emphasises the importance of greater consultation with refugee women at all stages of policy and programme planning, and has called on European governments to actively support the development of refugee women’s fora and associations. He recommends that the Committee of Ministers develop guidelines that detail good practice in the determination of asylum claims from women and girls, taking into account existing guidelines in Australia, Canada and the United States.

This report is an encouraging step in the creation of a more gendered asylum policy. Now is the challenging part, and it's over to the government to implement.

Photograph courtesy of Rockcohen.

Council of Europe publish report on gender-related asylum

Council of Europe publish report on gender-related asylum

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