UNHCR's ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES FOR ASSESSING THE ...

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