Ukraine is a party to the Geneva Convention of 1951 and the Protocol of 1967. Ukraine’s asylum law has recently undergone many changes. Although the new law provides a more coherent and coordinated system for asylum applications, it also imposes a strict time limit (15 days) within which a person can apply for asylum, and does not incorporate humanitarian protections against refoulement . The law includes the standard language on membership in a particular social group. It is not readily apparent whether any LGBT individuals have sought asylum in Ukraine and, if so, whether protection has been given to those individuals.

General on asylum in a non-EU member state

Refugee law is governed internationally by the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (the “Geneva Convention”) and the 1967 Protocol (the “Protocol”) which extended the previously limited scope of the convention. The text of the Convention defines a refugee as a person who

owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reason of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country .

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has stated unequivocally that LGBT individuals may fall under the Convention’s definition of “refugee” when fleeing unpunished abuse and discrimination or a country where homosexuality is criminalized. Criminal laws may be per se persecution, or may only rise to persecution when applied discriminatorily or when it imposes severe penalties, including the death penalty. The absence of laws criminalizing homosexuality is also not to be considered per se evidence that there is no persecution in the country of origin.

In addition to the global law of the Convention, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has called on its members to consider persecution based on sexual orientation and/or gender identity as valid reasons for seeking asylum under the terms of the Convention.