Decision 202102077/1/V2
| Publisher | Netherlands, The: Council of State (Raad van State) |
| Publication Date | 4 August 2021 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | ECLI:NL:RVS:2021:1754 |
| Other Languages / Attachments | Decision 202102077/1/V2 |
| Cite as | Decision 202102077/1/V2, ECLI:NL:RVS:2021:1754, Netherlands, The: Council of State (Raad van State), 4 August 2021, available at: https://www.refworld.org/cases,NTL_COS,6138d7784.html [accessed 2 October 2022] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Netherlands: Council of State clarifies how to assess evidence submitted by LGBTI+ applicants
On 4 August 2021, the Dutch Council of State (Raad van State) issued a judgment regarding the State Secretary's refusal to grant the applicant a temporary residence permit for asylum based on his sexual orientation. The applicant fled Nigeria after being caught with his partner. He stated that he was homosexual in his application for international protection in the Netherlands, but the State Secretary considered that his statements and evidence submitted in support of his application were not convincing. The applicant also submitted documents in support of his alleged sexual orientation, including tickets and bank statements evidencing frequent visits to a gay sauna. He claims the Secretary of State did not examine these documents in their entirety and give them sufficient weight when assessing the credibility of his statements.
In its judgment, the Council of State clarified that in assessing asylum applications by LGBTI+ persons, the State Secretary must assess the credibility of applications in their entirety, not only relying on the applicant's statements, but also on any factual information submitted by the asylum applicant as supporting evidence. It stated that although an asylum applicant's statements are of great importance and can make an alleged sexual orientation plausible on their own, factual information can also serve as supporting evidence. The State Secretary must then make an integral credibility assessment, weighing up the asylum applicant's statements, the supporting information submitted and any counter-evidence. As such, inadequate statements alone do not suffice to deem an alleged sexual orientation plausible. In the case at hand, the Council of State deemed that the State Secretary had not sufficiently substantiated how it took into account the supporting information submitted by the applicant, together and in light with the other statements. It must therefore take a new decision assessing whether the information submitted by the applicant is credible.
Based on an unofficial translation by the EWLU team.
ELENA Weekly Legal Update - 27 August 2021
