The European Court of Human Rights jurisprudence toward LGBT refugees

This thesis research will move through the European jurisprudence in LGBT asylum seekers case law. The work is divided into two chapters; the first one contains an analysis of the international instruments to protect refugees, moving from the 1951 Geneva Declaration on Human Rights on who is a refugee and which are the identification criteria. The analysis follows with an analysis of international instruments to protect people in the LGBT community. The Yogyakarta Principles and the guidelines formulated by the UNHCR on the protection of the same minority are then analysed. There is also a detailed explanation of the LGBT community and their acronym, explaining why they are deserving of international protection based on SOGI criteria. The first chapter ends with an analysis of European instruments to protect the rights and dignity of refugees as part of the same community. Concluding, a study of the first two LGBT refugee cases submitted to the European Court of Justice and used as a basis for future judgments. The second chapter contains a study of 30 cases that have reached the European Court of Human Rights, how these have been interpreted over the years and what the main benefits have been for subsequent cases. A comparative analysis is made to derive key data, such as what is the main country of origin of these refugees and what are the laws in their country of origin that prevent them from freely expressing their gender identity and sexual orientation. From the analysis of the cases that have gone through the European Court of Human Rights, we can also learn what the EU's strengths and weaknesses have been in protecting this category.