Life for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex – LGBTI people living in Africa is difficult. Recently countries such as Uganda, Nigeria, and Malawi have created laws that more severely persecute these people. In response, South Africa has committed to aid persecuted people in LGBTI communities. Clinton School student Gregg Potter (’14) partnered with the Legal Resource Center (LRC) of South Africa to assess how the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) can better meet this commitment.
Potter arrived at the LRC Cape Town, South Africa office in early November 2013 to meet with asylum seekers rejected by the DHA. Refugees seek LRC assistance to appeal their rejections from DHA. First, consultations with asylum applicants established discrepancies between why DHA rejected them and what their individual stories were. Then, appeal arguments, or affidavits, were created for each refugee describing the lack of compliance DHA has with international and South African refugee law.
Potter compiled research for these arguments to create tools that assist the appeal process. The first tool was an intake form that properly captures the necessary information to argue a rejection from DHA. The second tool was a guide that addresses steps and correlating laws for an argument to appeal a DHA rejection. These tools will be used by LRC and other agencies assisting LGBTI individuals seeking asylum in South Africa.
The final piece to Gregg Potter’s work in South Africa was an assessment of all rejection letters collected during his time at the LRC. These letters, once assessed into categories where DHA does and does not comply with refugee law, were written into a report. This LRC published report will acknowledge the journey of LGBTI refugees in Africa, the importance of South Africa in the journey, and how South Africa can respond better. Potter combined his assessment with two similar assessments to create the final chapter of this report. This LRC report will be published and distributed in late April.
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