Ministry of Interior accepted the majority of comments that Autonomous Women's Center had submitted to the Draft Law on Asylum and Temporary Protection. AWC's proposals were related to the harmonization of the draft Law with the Council of Europe Convention on Violence against Women in terms of recognizing gender based violence as a form of persecution and a basis for subsidiary protection, as well as developing gender-sensitive reception procedures and support services for asylum-seekers.

MoI has adopted the majority of those comments, therefore gender and gender identity are recognized as the basis on which a person can be exposed to persecution, and gender based violence is recognized as a form of persecution, which is a basis for subsidiary protection.

Besides marital partners, the Draft Law now considers common-law partners to be family members. Gender and gender identity are included in the principles of non-refoulement and non-discrimination, whereas gender based violence is taken into account when assessing the best interests of the minor.

However, exposure to gender-based violence is not explicitly defined as criteria for providing special reception and procedural guarantees in asylum procedures. Therefore, AWC continues to advocate for applying this standard of the Istanbul Convention in the Law on Asylum and Temporary Protection.

The Draft Law on Asylum and Temporary Protection is available here.