Canadian
Legal Scholar and German Asylum Lawyer Visit CGRS
 This
summer CGRS hosted Sean Rehaag, a Canadian legal scholar
studying Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) asylum
issues. Sean is a doctoral candidate at the University of Toronto’s
Faculty of Law. He specializes in immigration and refugee law as
well as political and legal theory. In addition to his academic
work, Sean offers pro bono legal assistance to refugees and undocumented
migrants seeking to regularize their immigration status, focusing
primarily on incorporating norms from international legal sources
in gender- and sexual orientation-based refugee and immigration
applications.
During his time with us, Sean worked on a project
examining the challenges faced by bisexual asylum seekers fleeing
persecution on account of their sexual orientation, particularly
in terms of communicating their experiences to both Canadian and
U.S. adjudicators. Sean also shared his expertise with CGRS by
updating our database on Canadian refugee case law.
Marei Pelzer is a German asylum lawyer
who joined CGRS for two months this summer. Marei works for PRO
ASYL, a national nonprofit organization with offices throughout
Germany that supports asylum seekers in that country. Founded in
1986, PRO ASYL focuses not only on legal support for asylum seekers,
but also on lobbying and campaigning in order to raise awareness
about the status of refugees in Germany, and to improve conditions
for that population. The organization provides a hotline for refugees
and their advocates to obtain information and legal advice from
the PRO ASYL staff.
As PRO ASYL’s legal policy officer and sole attorney, Marei
analyzes legislation, as well as legal decisions, to determine
their potential impact on those seeking asylum in Germany. For
example, in early 2005, a new German immigration law came into
force that strengthened the rights of female asylum seekers who
were persecuted on gender-related grounds. The law states that
persecution on such grounds may also constitute persecution due
to membership in a particular social group. This clarification—and
particularly the recognition of persecution by non-state actors—improves
the chances that an individual will be granted asylum based on
gender-based persecution, such as domestic violence or female genital
cutting. But in general, the recognition rate in asylum cases in
Germany is very low; only 5 % of all applications were granted
in 2005.
While at CGRS, Marei reviewed U.S. case law on gender-based
persecution, including cases defining a “particular social
group,” which
is the basis for many women’s asylum claims. She also updated
the CGRS database on German refugee case law. Marei is looking
forward to taking what she has learned back to Germany where she
will assist asylum seekers and their attorneys by helping to interpret
and implement the new immigration law. |
