Fruktan och skam - En granskning av migrationsdomstolarnas bedömningar av HBTQI-asylärenden
(2016) JURM02 20162Department of Law
- Abstract (Swedish)
- Asylrätten i ett EU-medlemsland består av ett samspel mellan nationell, EU-rättslig och internationell politik samt rättskällor. Dessa tre nivåer ger riktlinjer för hur en asylbedömning ska utföras och vad den ska innehålla. Grunden är att en som asylsökande måste anses uppfylla flyktingkriterierna som uppställs i Genèvekonventionen. Om beslutande myndighet anser detta vara fallet, erkänns personen som flykting. Denne beviljas då asyl och ges skydd från framtida förföljelse i hemlandet. I Sverige står migrationsverket, migrationsdomstolarna och migrationsöverdomstolen som beslutsfattande instanser. Ofta är en sökandes berättelse den enda bevisningen, och trovärdigheten i denna kan ges stort utrymme av beslutsfattare. Utöver lagstadgad rätt... (More)
- Asylrätten i ett EU-medlemsland består av ett samspel mellan nationell, EU-rättslig och internationell politik samt rättskällor. Dessa tre nivåer ger riktlinjer för hur en asylbedömning ska utföras och vad den ska innehålla. Grunden är att en som asylsökande måste anses uppfylla flyktingkriterierna som uppställs i Genèvekonventionen. Om beslutande myndighet anser detta vara fallet, erkänns personen som flykting. Denne beviljas då asyl och ges skydd från framtida förföljelse i hemlandet. I Sverige står migrationsverket, migrationsdomstolarna och migrationsöverdomstolen som beslutsfattande instanser. Ofta är en sökandes berättelse den enda bevisningen, och trovärdigheten i denna kan ges stort utrymme av beslutsfattare. Utöver lagstadgad rätt utgör praxis en viktig del i gällande rätt på asylområdet. Mitt syfte med detta arbete är att granska migrationsdomstolarnas tillämpning av gällande rätt i asylärenden där de åberopade skyddsskälen är sexuell läggning, könsidentitet och könsuttryck. Syftet är vidare att analysera gällande rätt och mina resultat utifrån genusrättsvetenskaplig queerteori. HBTQI-personer bryter på olika sätt heteronormativa föreställningar och förföljs för detta världen om. Det finns få nationella och EU-rättsliga prejudikat berörande just denna specifika grupp, i denna utredning ser jag till de tre senaste. Dessa tre praxisavgöranden behandlar bl.a. frågor om bedömning av förföljelse och trovärdighet. Utifrån dessa två centrala teman granskar jag svenska migrationsdomstolarnas tillämpning i ca 100 ärenden rörande HBTQI-personer. I denna rättsfallsutredning visar jag hur domstolarna kring bedömningen av förföljelse dömer lika fall olika rörande kriminaliserande lagstiftning, samt hur de i strider med EU-rätten resonerar kring hemlighållande. Vad gäller migrationsdomstolarnas trovärdighetsbedömningar visar utredningen hur de dels hänvisar felaktigt till rättskällor, dels dömer utifrån stereotypa föreställningar. Utredningen visar även hur heteronormativa föreställningar genomsyrar avgöranden från såväl prejudicerande som underrättsinstanser. HBTQI-personer förväntas bl.a. medverka i att förneka sig själva och nöja sig med mindre än heterosexuella cis-personer. Utredningen visar även att ingen av de sökande som inte kunde uppvisa känslor av skam inför sig själv, ansågs trovärdiga och beviljades asyl från migrationsdomstol. Jag menar att detta är en stereotyp baserad på den heteronormativa idén om att en heterosexuell cis-person är normaltillstånd, och att alla som inte är detta måste ha genomgått en krävande inre kamp samt internaliserat trans- och homofobi. (Less)
- Abstract
- In an EU-member state, asylum law is the result of an interplay between national, EU and international policies and sources of law. All three levels give guidelines on the content of and how to carry out an asylum assessment. The basis for any asylum assessment is that the asylum seeker meets the refugee criteria put forth in the Geneva Convention. If this is found to be the case the person is recognized as a refugee by the determining authorities. The person will then be granted asylum and protected from future persecution in their homeland. In Sweden the determining authorities are the migration agency, the migrations courts and the supreme migration court. The applicant’s history is often the only evidence in an asylum case and... (More)
- In an EU-member state, asylum law is the result of an interplay between national, EU and international policies and sources of law. All three levels give guidelines on the content of and how to carry out an asylum assessment. The basis for any asylum assessment is that the asylum seeker meets the refugee criteria put forth in the Geneva Convention. If this is found to be the case the person is recognized as a refugee by the determining authorities. The person will then be granted asylum and protected from future persecution in their homeland. In Sweden the determining authorities are the migration agency, the migrations courts and the supreme migration court. The applicant’s history is often the only evidence in an asylum case and therefore the credibility of this can be given significant weight by the decision maker. Judicial precedents constitute an important part of the legal framework of asylum law. My aim with this thesis is to study the assessment of applicable law by the migration courts in asylum cases where claimed protection grounds are sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression. The purpose of the thesis is further to analyze relevant laws and my results from a feminist and queer legal theory perspective. LGBTQI-people violate heteronormative conceptions in different ways and are persecuted because of this worldwide. There are few judicial precedents from national and EU courts concerning this specific group and I will in this thesis focus on the three most recent. These three rulings affect inter alia questions regarding the assessment of persecution and credibility. From these two central themes I will study assessments carried out by the Swedish migration courts in around a hundred cases regarding LGBTQI-people. In my case study I show how the courts, when assessing persecution, rule equal cases regarding criminal legislation differently. I also show how they are in discordance with EU law when reasoning around discretion. Regarding credibility assessments by the migration courts this study shows that said assessments refer incorrectly to sources of law and base rulings on stereotypes. The study shows how heteronormative conceptions are persistent in rulings from both lower courts and courts of record. LGBTQI-people are expected to inter alia participate in the denial of themselves and settle for less than heterosexual cis-people. The case study also shows that none of the applicants who could not demonstrate feelings of shame towards themselves, were considered credible by decision makers and granted asylum by the migration courts. This is the result of a stereotype based on the heteronormative conception that being a heterosexual cis-person is a state of normal, and that everyone who is different has gone through a demanding inner struggle to accept themselves and therefore harbor internalized feelings of trans- and homophobia. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/8897538
- author
- Malmquist, Victoria LU
- supervisor
- organization
- alternative title
- Fear and Shame - A study of the Swedish migration courts assessments in LGBTQI asylum cases
- course
- JURM02 20162
- year
- 2016
- type
- H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
- subject
- keywords
- Sexuell läggning, HBTQI, Förföljelse, Trovärdighetsbedömningar, Migrationsrätt, könsidentitet, könsuttryck, EU-rätt, CJEU, Migrationsdomstol, Rättsfallsutredning
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 8897538
- date added to LUP
- 2017-01-18 19:03:15
- date last changed
- 2017-01-18 19:03:15
@misc{8897538,
abstract = {{In an EU-member state, asylum law is the result of an interplay between national, EU and international policies and sources of law. All three levels give guidelines on the content of and how to carry out an asylum assessment. The basis for any asylum assessment is that the asylum seeker meets the refugee criteria put forth in the Geneva Convention. If this is found to be the case the person is recognized as a refugee by the determining authorities. The person will then be granted asylum and protected from future persecution in their homeland. In Sweden the determining authorities are the migration agency, the migrations courts and the supreme migration court. The applicant’s history is often the only evidence in an asylum case and therefore the credibility of this can be given significant weight by the decision maker. Judicial precedents constitute an important part of the legal framework of asylum law. My aim with this thesis is to study the assessment of applicable law by the migration courts in asylum cases where claimed protection grounds are sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression. The purpose of the thesis is further to analyze relevant laws and my results from a feminist and queer legal theory perspective. LGBTQI-people violate heteronormative conceptions in different ways and are persecuted because of this worldwide. There are few judicial precedents from national and EU courts concerning this specific group and I will in this thesis focus on the three most recent. These three rulings affect inter alia questions regarding the assessment of persecution and credibility. From these two central themes I will study assessments carried out by the Swedish migration courts in around a hundred cases regarding LGBTQI-people. In my case study I show how the courts, when assessing persecution, rule equal cases regarding criminal legislation differently. I also show how they are in discordance with EU law when reasoning around discretion. Regarding credibility assessments by the migration courts this study shows that said assessments refer incorrectly to sources of law and base rulings on stereotypes. The study shows how heteronormative conceptions are persistent in rulings from both lower courts and courts of record. LGBTQI-people are expected to inter alia participate in the denial of themselves and settle for less than heterosexual cis-people. The case study also shows that none of the applicants who could not demonstrate feelings of shame towards themselves, were considered credible by decision makers and granted asylum by the migration courts. This is the result of a stereotype based on the heteronormative conception that being a heterosexual cis-person is a state of normal, and that everyone who is different has gone through a demanding inner struggle to accept themselves and therefore harbor internalized feelings of trans- and homophobia.}},
author = {{Malmquist, Victoria}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Fruktan och skam - En granskning av migrationsdomstolarnas bedömningar av HBTQI-asylärenden}},
year = {{2016}},
}