Protection of refugees in Germany
Refugee protection is afforded in Germany, if the conditions of ยง 3 I Asylgesetz are hold:
Refugee
A foreigner is recognised as refugee, if he/she
- justified fears persecution due to his/her race, religion, nationality, political belief or belonging to a certain social group
- thus is outside his/her home country,
- cannot call upon the protection of the home country or does not want to call upon it due to this fear.
It is irrelevant, whether the applicant actually has the characteristics he/she is persecuted for as long as the persecutor believes that he/she has these characteristics.
Persecution
The persecution can emanate
- from the state, from political parties or organisations that control the state or significant parts of the state territory (state-like players) or
- from non-state players, if state or state-like players including international organisations are proven to not be able or willing to offer protection against the statewide threat of persecution.
Persecution is actions
- that due to their type or reoccurrence are so serious that they constitute a severe violation of fundamental human rights, especially rights from which no derogation is permitted according to Article 15 II ECHR (especially Article 3, torture or inhumane or humiliating punishment or treatment),
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or
- that collectively equal a severe violation of fundamental human rights.
Examples of actions that can count as persecution:
- use of physical or mental force, including sexual violence,
- legal, administrative, police and/or judicial measures that are discriminatory as such or are executed in a discriminatory way,
- disproportionate or discriminatory prosecution or punishment,
- denial of judicial protection resulting in disproportionate or discriminatory punishment,
- actions associated with gender,
- actions against children.