UNHCR's ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES FOR ASSESSING THE ...
UNHCR's ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES FOR ASSESSING THE ...
UNHCR's ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES FOR ASSESSING THE ...
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drive out other religious groups from their areas. Since these acts are targeted at members<br />
of specific religious, ethnic and political groups, the Convention grounds “religion”, “race”,<br />
“nationality” and “political opinion” are clearly relevant factors for the commission of these<br />
acts.<br />
b) Membership of a Particular Social Group<br />
A person’s “membership of a particular social group” may also be a relevant factor, often in<br />
combination with other Convention grounds. In the Iraq context, this factor would often be<br />
combined with the ground of “religion” and (imputed) “political opinion”. As set out in<br />
UNHCR’s relevant Guidelines:<br />
“a particular social group is a group of persons who share a common characteristic other<br />
than their risk of being persecuted, or who are perceived as a group by society. The<br />
characteristic will often be one which is innate, unchangeable, or which is otherwise<br />
fundamental to identity, conscience or the exercise of one’s human rights.” 736<br />
This encompasses two different ways of defining a “particular social group”: on the one<br />
hand, under the so-called “protected characteristics’ approach, a group is considered to be<br />
united by an immutable characteristic or one that is so fundamental to human dignity that<br />
a person should not be compelled to forsake it. On the other hand, individuals who share<br />
a common characteristic which makes them a cognizable group or sets them apart from<br />
society at large may also form a particular social group. 737<br />
In the Iraqi context, certain forms of persecution of women, including for example “honour<br />
killings” or other attacks, may be related to a transgression of religious prescriptions rather<br />
than social mores, in which case the Convention ground “religion” as well as that of<br />
“membership of a particular social group” may be applicable. Individuals targeted because<br />
they belong to particular families may be considered as members of a particular social<br />
group, although such targeting may also be linked to political or religious grounds.<br />
Individuals subject to persecution for their unconventional sexual orientation or for their<br />
professions may be targeted because their sexual behaviour or their work is considered as<br />
un-Islamic and thus both the grounds “membership of a particular social group” as well as<br />
religion may be applicable.<br />
The “membership of a particular social group” ground may also be relevant where there is<br />
a risk of persecution due to a person belonging to a particular social class based on his or<br />
her wealth, as it may also be relevant in the case of those exercising certain professions. 738<br />
However, as noted elsewhere in these Guidelines, often such persons are also targeted<br />
because their activities are considered to be inconsistent with religious beliefs of the<br />
persecutors, or because they are considered to have political opinions not tolerated by the<br />
latter.<br />
736 UNHCR, Guidelines on International Protection No. 2: “Membership of a Particular Social Group”<br />
Within the Context of Article 1A(2) of the 1951 Convention and/or its 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of<br />
Refugees, 7 May 2002, HCR/GIP/02/02, para. 11, available in UNHCR’s Refworld at: http://www.unhcr.org/<br />
cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?docid=3d36f23f4.<br />
737 Ibidem, para. 6-7, for further guidance.<br />
738 Ibid. See also: UNHCR, Handbook, para. 43, see above footnote 723.<br />
138