New UNHCR Guidance on Refugee Claims Relating to FGM

In May the UNHRC issued a guidance note and summary on refugee claims relating to FGM.

An increasing number of jurisdictions have recognised FGM as a form of persecution in their asylum decision.

The guidance states that claimants can include a girl or woman who is at risk or has undergone FGM, or parents who fear for their daughters, or risk persecution because there are opposed to the practice.

The guidance outlines specific forms of persection that are relevant to FGM, outlines the role of the state in providing protection and defines “agents of prosecution”.

There is also clarity on relocation and procedural issues.