The UK Supreme Court Two gay men have won the right to asylum in the UK, after claiming they faced persecution in their own countries; Cameroon and Iran. The panel of judges on the UK Supreme Court has unanimously ruled to allow the appeal. They had been refused asylum on the grounds they could hide their sexuality by behaving discreetly. The men's case was that this tolerability test was contrary to the Refugee Convention, to which the UK is a party. Home Secretary Theresa May said the judgement vindicated the coalition government's stance, BBC reports. Under the previous government the Home Office had contested the case, saying it had taken sexuality into account when making its decisions. The decision is expected to create a complete change in the approach that will be taken by tribunals and courts to applications for asylum by gay people, as all future applications of a similar nature will have to apply the Supreme Court's guidance. Lord Hope read out the judgement, saying: "To compel a homosexual person to pretend that his sexuality does not exist or suppress the behaviour by which to manifest itself is to deny his fundamental right to be who he is. "Homosexuals are as much entitled to freedom of association with others who are of the same sexual orientation as people who are straight." Chief executive of gay lobby group Stonewall, Ben Summerskill, is welcoming the ruling. "Demanding that lesbian or gay people return home to conceal their sexuality bears no resemblance to the reality of gay life in many countries. We're delighted that the Government is responding to what we asked of all the political parties in the run-up to the election," he says. Summerskill says Stonewall's report No Going Back shows that UK Border Agency staff urgently need better guidance and support to deal with cases involving gay asylum seekers. "We look forward to working with UKBA and ministers on these issues."
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Thursday, 8th July 2010 - 11:08am