From: James Binder <[email-masked]>

/* Written 10:08 pm  Apr 16, 1992 by jbinder in cdp:queerplanet */
/* ---------- "IGLHRC: Gay Refugee Status" ---------- */

GAY REFUGEE STATUS-A NEW WORLD TREND?

Press Release From the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights
Commission March 26, 1992

	On March 19th, a gay couple from mainland China was
	granted refugee status in Australia based upon persecution
	due to sexual orientation.  This ruling is part of a trend
	around the world in which gays and lesbians are being
	recognized as a persecuted class of people.  Earlier this
	year, in January, three similar cases were won in Canada.
	Jorge Inaudi, an Argentinian gay man, was granted
	political asylum, and later that month a gay male couple
	from eastern Europe was granted asylum based on a
	unanamous immigration board decision.  "We are thrilled
	that these cases are expanding the definition of social
	groups subjected to persecution and entitled to special
	recognition by immigration authorities internationally.
	It compliments the efforts of IGLHRC, Lambda and other
	groups to fight the INS policy of excluding people with
	the HIV virus from entering or staying in the United
	States," said Charles Spiegel, a member of the Board of
	Directors of Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund.
	There are currently eight other cases based on sexual
	orientation known to be pending from gays and lesbians
	fleeing persecution from various countries; one in
	Australia, five in Canada, and two in the United States.
	In the past, Austria, the Netherlands, West Germany, and
	the United States have granted asylum to gay men. This
	year Canada and Australia have followed suit.  "Successful
	refugee or political asylum cases for gays and lesbians is
	one way we are documenting our persecution around the
	globe, which is critical to fighting for our human
	rights," stated Julie Dorf, Executive Director of the
	International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission
	(IGLHRC).  The case of the couple from China adds
	Australia to the growing list of countries recognizing
	gays and lesbians as a persecuted social group.  The
	Chinese penal code mandates incarceration for as long as
	it takes to "re-educate" the individual through
	"treatment." The IGLHRC has played a critical part in many
	of these cases, providing needed documentation about
	persecution of sexual minorities in these coutries.
	Juliet Morris, who represented the gay couple in
	Australia, in relating the victory, said "the information
	you [IGLHRC] provided clinched it for us."

For more information contact:

Julie Dorf or Russ Gage at
IGLHRC
540 Castro Street San Francisco, CA  94114 Phone: (415) 255 86 80
Fax: (415) 255 86 62

Or I will forward your e-mail

Jim Binder (jbinder) for IHGHRC