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Joined Cases C-199/12,  C-200/12,  C-201/12,  Minister voor Immigratie en Asiel v X, Y and Z v Minister voor Immigratie en Asiel The status of homosexuals is an extremely fascinating aspect of asylum and human rights law. Even in the freedom of western society, it is only fairly recently that homosexual, transgender and bisexual individuals have achieved parity – albeit superficially – with heterosexuals. Geography aside, gay people can be found in abundance all over the world and are routinely victimised because of their sexuality. Ultimately we are all human and of course sexual expression is inextricably linked to selfhood. In these Dutch cases, the  Court of Justice of the European Union  (CJEU) held that sexual orientation is a fundamental part of identity and people should not have to abandon their sexuality. Similarly, criminal laws specifically targeting homosexuals clearly single them out from the rest of society. X was from Sierra Leone where...

Mr. U. Rosenthal Minister of Foreign Affairs PO Box 20061 2500 EB Den Haag The Netherlands Dear Minister Rosenthal, I am writing to you regarding the section in your December 2011 Netherlands Country Report on Iraq about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. While Human Rights Watch appreciates your government’s discussion of Iraqis identifying as LGBT in the report, we are concerned that the section downplays the severe challenges and risks faced by the LGBT community in Iraq. Your report suggests that the most significant problems facing the LGBT community in Iraq are that “homosexuality is a social taboo” and that “people are generally disapproving of homosexuality.” The situation for the LGBT community is much more dire than what the report states. Even though in a footnote the Dutch report refers to the 2009 Human Rights Watch report “They Want Us Exterminated”: Murder, Torture, Sexual Orientation and Gender in Iraq, it does not address the alarmin...