Update on Alvin Gahimbaze's case

Rome, February 20, 2011. After receiving notification from the British authorities of his impending deportation and even the details of a flight back to Burundi, we launched an urgent campaign appealing to both the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the European Commission, as well as many LGBT rights organizations.

The fear of an unjust deportation seems to have been put on hold for now because after our letter accompanied by a dossier on Alvin's case, the High Commissioner for Refugees, Mr. Antonio Guterres, through his representative in London, has informed us that he has taken up Alvin's case and is also providing legal assistance. We hope to have confirmation soon that Alvin's rights will be respected and he will be granted asylum in the UK.

Below is the latest communication sent to the British Home Office with a copy to the international institutions that protect refugees worldwide.

With reference to the documents sent to Mr. Alvin Gahimbaze by the UK Border Agency - Criminal Casework Directorate, we, the undersigned Roberto Malini, Matteo Pegoraro and Dario Picciau, co-presidents of EveryOne Group, the international human rights organization, declare as follows:

Alvin Gahimbaze is openly gay, and as such - because he comes from Burundi- is in need of international protection according to the Geneva Convention. The convention clearly states that any person with a founded fear of being persecuted for his race, religion, nationality, social group or because of his political opinions (and is outside the country he is a citizen of) and is unable or – due to this fear - is unwilling to return, has the right to protection from the nation he has taken refuge in.

Furthermore, Alvin has no contacts or means of survival back in Burundi, a country he fled from with his burden of violence and mourning when he was little more than a child.

In this specific case:

- The arrest, on November 11th, 2008, of Alexis Sinduhije, the leader of the opposition, icon of the press, and a man of peace and respect for human rights, is significant of how far Burundi is from making any civil and social progress. The Human Rights Watch organization(http://www.hrw.org/doc/?t=africa&c=burundi) considers Sinduhije’s arrest new proof of the country’s serious lack of a human rights culture. Amnesty International, in the 2010 Annual Report for Burundi (http://www.amnestyusa.org/annualreport.php?id=ar&yr=2010&c=BDI), states: “The government suppressed the rights to freedom of expression and association by harassing or limiting the activities of some human rights defenders, journalists and opposition political parties. High levels of rape and other sexual violence against women and girls persisted. A new penal code abolished the death penalty and introduced other positive reforms. However, it also criminalized same sex sexual relationships. Disputes continued over land ownership in the context of the mass repatriation of refugees from Tanzania”.

- According to the British e-magazine “MoC” (http://cmafreewebsites.com/ukmoc/2010/11/21/there’s-no-such-thing-as-a-black-gay-man…/), “in Burundi, Central Africa, a paradoxical situation exists whereby the government denies that there are ANY gays in the country, while at the same time looking to implement legislation that outlaws homosexuality and gay sex”.

- He informed the UK authorities of this aspect of his personal life, but his application for asylum was still turned down. We must remember that the Burundi President, Nkurunzia, has issued a law that declares “homosexual acts” illegal. The “crime” foresees prison sentences of up to two years and heavy fines for gay men and women. Gay people in Burundi often fall victim to violence, prevarication and all kinds of humiliation.

- EveryOne Group is familiar with the situation in Burundi from the perspective of the lack of human rights and LGBT rights, and has already forwarded the European Parliament and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees a dossier showing the harassment, intimidation and discrimination against homosexuals in the territory of Burundi. Moreover, a recent testimony of Georges Kanuma, who himself was from Burundi and who was ranked by Front Line (www.frontlinedefenders.org) among the 100 human rights activists at risk of life in the world, said:

“The Parliament of Burundi introduced a new law which effectively rendered homosexuality punishable by law. Organisations like ARDHO and ANSS were supported by some civil society organisations in pleading for the revocation of this law since it was believed to reinforce the invisibility of homosexuals in society. While I could have either continued my work in secret or be a publicly-known activist my choice was simple. I chose to be active in the public eye and also started to openly express my views in the general media. However, this decision was not always easy as I lost a lot of friends as a result. I am forever grateful to God that my family continue to support me in my mission. As soon as I started expressing my points of view in the Burundi press, I received phone threats from individuals who claimed to be members of the CNDD FDD which is the leading party in Burundi. They accused me of promoting homosexuality in Burundi and asked me to stop immediately. As human rights defenders in Burundi, we are constantly put at risk. For instance, the President of OLLUCOM (Organisation for the Fight Against Corruption) was assassinated in broad daylight. Furthermore, the Vice-president of our organisation received threats in the midst of our campaign against the new legal code which criminalised homosexuality. What is more, his immediate circle of friends issued those threats. His landlord immediately evicted him from the apartment and his family stopped talking to him. He now lives in Canada. We must therefore search for effective ways to protect ourselves so we can pursue our everyday work with the best possible results.”

Georges Kanuma became a close friend of Matteo Pegoraro, co-president of EveryOne Group. Georges told Matteo about the discrimination and the threats suffered in Burundi, and the repeated attacks by homophobic gangs, the dangers faced by gays and lesbians in Burundi in order to survive. Georges died on April 14th, 2010 as a result of medical negligence after contracting a disease.

After considering these facts:

We obviously consider every action that puts Alvin in danger of deportation totally contrary to the international conventions on human rights, since it would mean handing him over to his persecutors, taking away from him any hope of a free and happy life.

Mr. Gahimbaze is currently suffering from depression, his physical and mental state is extremely precarious due to the constant stress and terror of being deported back to Burundi where he risks imprisonment, inhumane and degrading treatment, torture and further injustice - if not worse.

The UK's policies where asylum seekers are concerned still fall short of a respect for the fundamental rights and dignity of the individual. Despite the campaigns undertaken by our group and other European human rights associations, there is still a lot of work to do to assert the rights of refugees which are guaranteed by the Charter of Nice and the Geneva Convention. The United Kingdom would be failing to comply to several of its international legal obligations if Mr. Gahimbaze were to be deported: it is just as important that the authorities evaluate very carefully the applications of asylum seekers from Burundi (as well as the Congo and Rwanda), due to the totally unstable political and humanitarian situation in the Country. This would help to prevent the deportation of human beings in difficulty back to a dramatic future. Is it essential to keep in mind the Geneva Convention when evaluating their cases, as it is still the most efficient instrument for ensuring the protection of human beings fleeing from countries in which their lives are in serious danger.

The words printed at the bottom of every page of the document sent to Mr. Gahimbaze from the UK Border Agency, "Building a just, safe and tolerant society" sound so ironic when applied to the forced deportation of a vulnerable young man. As human rights defenders we are extremely worried about the policies some civilized governments are using against refugees and asylum seekers, particularly the governments of the European Union. These are human beings who, if repatriated, would face persecution, inhumane treatment, police and judicial persecution. We hope that the words mentioned above are not a prelude to the collapse of the civil and human rights culture, a culture which should be superior to mere bureaucracy or the temptation to reject persecuted people from distant lands.

We are appealing to the UK Border Agency and the UK Government to take action to ensure that a human life is spared from xenophobia, homophobia, political cynicism and indifference.

Spare Alvin Gahimbaze's life and prevent a tragic case of injustice taking place. Turn the young man into a symbol of respect and not a martyr of xenophobia, where the United Kingdom respects Alvin's fundamental human rights in accordance with the Geneva Convention.

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To prevent Alvin's deportation and his future persecution in Burundi, EveryOne Group has launched the “Red Hands Campaign”. This humanitarian action calls to all friends of human rights to send a letter to the principal institutions of the United Kingdom. This letter asking the UK to save Alvin's life, will be marked with a red hand print. With Red Hands, civil society pleads with the United Kingdom not to spill the blood of persecuted refugees, but instead, to accept them under the law. The European Union, the United Nations and all democratic countries are also invited to appeal to the United Kingdom to save Alvin's life and respect the fundamental rights of persecuted refugees.

These are the addresses, faxes and e-mails you can send the letters, with red hand prints (you can also use the image below), to: