ICJ, AIRE Centre and ECRE joint intervention in F.G. v Sweden

ICJ, AIRE Centre and ECRE joint intervention in F.G. v Sweden

Today, the AIRE Centre (Advice on Individual Rights in Europe), the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) and the ICJ presented joint written observations to the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of F.G. v. Sweden (Application No. 43611/11).

The case arises from the Swedish authorities’ dismissal of an asylum application. The submissions focus on:

  • the obligation for Parties to the ECHR to ensure that the risk upon removal is addressed in such a way as to guarantee that the Convention’s protection is practical and effective;
  • whether requiring coerced, self-enforced suppression of a fundamental aspect of one’s identity, which enforced concealment of one’s religion entails, is compatible with Convention obligations;
  • the relevance and significance of the EU asylum acquis and Court of Justice of the EU’s jurisprudence on these matters; and
  • the relevance and significance of the 1951 Geneva Refugee Convention.

SWEDEN-ECHR amicus FG vs Sweden-Advocacy-Legal Submission-2014-ENG (full text in PDF)

Upholding the freedom of assembly and association of LGBTI persons

Upholding the freedom of assembly and association of LGBTI persons

The ICJ, together with the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) and on behalf of ARC International, today delivered an oral statement to the Human Rights Council during an interactive dialogue with the UN Special Rapporteur on peaceful assembly and association.

The report of the Special Rapporteur addressed challenges faced by groups at risk, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons.

The statement welcomed the report by the Special Rapporteur.

It referred to the Nigerian Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act (which in fact criminalizes a much broader range of human rights-protected activities than its title would necessarily suggest), Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act, and Ukraine’s draft law on “propaganda of homosexual relations”. All of these laws impede freedom of peaceful assembly of LGBTI persons. The Nigerian law also interferes with freedom of association, as it bans registration, funding and activities of “gay” organizations.

It also referred to Russia’s ban on “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations”.

It emphasised the detrimental impact of such laws on the work of LGBTI human rights defenders and the activities of health care providers. It stressed that laws directly targeting the freedom of peaceful assembly or association of LGBTI individuals solely because of their sexual orientation or gender identity are inconsistent with international human rights law.

UN-HRC26-AssociationLGBTI-OralStatement-advocay-non legal submission-2014 (full text in pdf)

The report of the Special Rapporteur is available here.

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