X, Y and Z (European Union): Who is protected as queer refugee by the Court of Justice of the European Union?

<p dir="ltr">The decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in the joined cases of X, Y and Z v Minister voor Immigratie en Asiel, in 2013, marked a turning point in EU asylum law concerning sexual minorities. It clarified the (minimum) standard of protection which sexual minorities are entitled to under the Common European Asylum System (CEAS), especially in relation to the key terms of the definition of refugee, and has become the point of reference for subsequent CJEU decisions con- cerning other substantive and procedural aspects of asylum claims based on sexual orientation. It originated from three separate Dutch proceedings involving men fleeing, respectively, Sierra Leone (X), Uganda (Y) and Senegal (Z), and concerned their asylum claims submitted on the grounds of a fear of persecution for membership of a sexual minority. Before reaching its decision on these cases, the Council of State of the Netherlands (Raad van State) deemed it appropriate to submit a preliminary reference request to the CJEU to clarify how the Qualification Directive (QD) should be applied when sexual orientation is the reason for seeking international protection in an EU Member State.</p>