Refugees who claim asylum on grounds they are gay should NOT have to undergo tests to prove it, EU court rules

Refugees who claim asylum on the grounds that they are homosexual should not have to undergo tests to prove it, the EU's top court has ruled. 

Three men, including a Ugandan and one from a Muslim country, failed to gain asylum when a Dutch court found they had not proved their sexuality.  

The European Court of Justice says EU states must respect human dignity. Its rulings apply for all EU member states.

The case involving the trio is significant because this year there has been a surge in the number of sub-Saharan Africans seeking asylum in Europe, the BBC reported. Most African countries treat homosexuality as a crime.

In 2011 the UN, EU and human rights activists criticised Czech authorities for using an erection or 'phallometric' test - a practice dating back to communist times - to determine whether certain asylum seekers were gay.

In its latest ruling, the court of justice said that determining a refugee's sexuality had to be consistent with EU law while also respecting their private and family life.

It said evidence of homosexual acts submitted from tests or on film infringed human dignity, even if it was proposed by the asylum seeker. Allowing such evidence could result in it becoming a requirement, the court said.

While authorities can ask questions about asylum seekers sexual orientation, they can't ask about their sexual practices. 

The judges said an asylum seeker's failure to answer questions about their personal circumstances was not sufficient reason to reject them. Nor was an applicant's failure to declare his homosexuality from the outset. 

Treatment of gay, lesbian or bisexual refugees has been highlighted in the UK in recent months following revelations one asylum seeker was asked 'shockingly degrading' questions.

More than 10 per cent of interviews with asylum seekers involved questions of an 'unsatisfactory nature', a report in October by the UK independent chief inspector of borders and immigration found.

Last year the court of justice ruled that gay asylum seekers who had a genuine fear of imprisonment in African countries could claim refugee status. 

Culled