Reasons for Humanitarian Asylum
The motivations for seeking humanitarian asylum vary significantly; however, they all revolve around an individual’s incapacity to live safely and securely in their home country. These reasons can be categorized into two primary groups:
Past Persecution
This category involves incidents that have affected the asylum seeker in the past, leading to long-term harm. It is not always necessary for the individual to fear for their life in the future. For instance, experiencing the murder of a family member or being personally abducted can fall under this category.
Fear for Life
This situation arises when an individual applying for asylum perceives a significant threat to their life in their home country. This fear may stem from various factors, such as their ethnicity, religion, national origin, political views, or any other reason that might endanger their safety if they were to return.
What Is Humanitarian Asylum?
Humanitarian asylum refers to a legal status under international law that allows individuals to seek refuge in another country to escape danger from their own. This form of asylum is not an obligatory legal requirement for the host nation; therefore, applicants cannot demand it, as the decision rests solely with the country in question. It has the right to refuse asylum without legal repercussions. Additionally, individuals who have committed crimes, are accused of state security offenses, terrorism, or other serious international crimes are excluded from seeking humanitarian asylum. Humanitarian asylum can be categorized into three main types: regional, extraterritorial, and neutral.
Types of Asylum
Asylum is generally divided into four main categories based on specific needs and reasons for seeking protection. These categories include those motivated by religious beliefs and those addressed to prominent political figures, such as the following:
- Humanitarian asylum.
- Political asylum.
- Religious asylum.
- Economic asylum, which has been discontinued as it is encompassed within the provisions of humanitarian asylum.