The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has made a decision that opens up a new possibility for refugee women (including minors) to be recognized internationally as refugees. This applies if the women identify with the “fundamental value of equality between women and men”, but this fundamental value is not recognized in their country of origin as it is in their country of refuge. They may therefore be considered to belong to a “particular social group” in their country of origin, which may be persecuted. This could then lead to refugee status. The ECJ announced this decision in a press release dated June 11, 2024.
The case concerned two Iraqi girls who had been living in the Netherlands without interruption since 2015. After their initial applications for refugee protection were rejected, they submitted subsequent applications. They justified this by stating that they had adopted the norms, values and behavior of their peers in this society as a result of their long-term stay in the Netherlands. If they returned to Iraq, they would not be able to adapt to the rules of a society in which women and girls did not have the same rights as men. They feared that they would be persecuted because of their identity, which had been formed in the Netherlands.
The Dutch authorities also rejected these subsequent applications. The young women therefore turned to a Dutch court. The court referred the case to the ECJ. The Court now had to examine whether refugee status could be recognized in this case if “a third-country national is persecuted on account of his race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership of a particular social group.”
In its judgment, the Court answers this question in the affirmative and points out that the national authorities must take particular account of the best interests of minor applicants when making their decisions. Long-term residence in a Member State must also be taken into account in the assessment, especially when it comes to a period that is “identity-forming” for minor applicants.
To the press release of the ECJ:
Internationaler Schutz: Frauen, die sich mit dem Wert der Gleichheit von Frauen und Männern identifizieren, kann die Flüchtlingseigenschaft zuerkannt werden (europa.eu)
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Flüchtlingsunterkunft Tübingen. Foto: tünews INTERNATIONAL / Mostafa Elyasian.
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