Rescued by the Sea-Watch 4: 'I'm alive and I still have hope'
Cisse, Christian and Narcisse were among the first migrants to be rescued by the NGO vessel Sea-Watch 4. One year later, they are still fighting for a future in Europe.
Cisse, Christian and Narcisse were among the first migrants to be rescued by the NGO vessel Sea-Watch 4. One year later, they are still fighting for a future in Europe.
Migration paths to Europe can take many shapes and are always full of risk and danger. But for stateless people, migration entails countless added layers of difficulty.
Lawyers working with the German Foreign Office have allegedly revealed the sexual identity of gay, lesbian and bisexual refugees to their home countries. The Lesbian and Gay Association of Germany (LSVD) referred to these instances as "human rights abuse" that has to be stopped immediately.
"Famille au grand cœur," an association run by a group of refugees and asylum seekers, is setting up in Montpellier in the south of France. The collective aims to offer welcome and support to young new arrivals who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.
According to a new UN report, gays who come out in Iran do so at their own peril. Their only recourse is often political asylum.
The Dutch government is reassessing the cases of dozens of Ugandans who were granted asylum, after it uncovered a criminal network that helped them to fake their sexual orientation in order to claim protection.
Arshid*, 28, left his native Iran, where he was forced to hide his homosexuality. He continues to do so in Bosnia’s Bira camp, where he has been stuck for nine months. The coronavirus pandemic has made it even more difficult to reach Europe, but he’s not giving up hope of reaching a country where he can finally "be himself".
Support structures for gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender refugees often rely on in-person meetings. That’s one of the reasons why measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 have hit queer refugees particularly hard. We spoke to LGBT+ refugee advocates in Germany about the situation, and where people can still get help.
In Greece, a list of 12 'safe countries' intended to facilitate the processing of asylum applications is causing concern among NGOs. According to refugee rights activists, the document eliminates country-specific nuances and endangers some asylum seekers, especially gay and transgender people.
The UN Refugee Agency UNHCR has launched a series of consultations to better protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) refugees. Consultations will take place over the next few months in different parts of the world.
The Italian Supreme Court of Cassation has ruled in favor of a homosexual migrant from the Ivory Coast. He had been denied refugee status in Italy even though he said he faced serious threats from his family back home.
Diana Namusoke and Success Johnson fled violence and discrimination back home in Africa, only to be caught up in Germany's messy asylum system. Luisa Rollenhagen reports from Berlin.