EU rules in favor of granting asylum to gay refugees. (Image via Creative Commons)

The European Court of Justice's ruling came after three homosexual men from Sierra Leone, Uganda and Senegal sought asylum in Holland, but the court's decision will apply to all EU countries, including the UK. 

"The court considers that requiring members of a social group sharing the same sexual orientation to conceal it is incompatible with the recognition of a characteristic so fundamental to a person's identity that the persons concerned cannot be required to renounce it," the judges ruled.

"Therefore, an applicant for asylum cannot be expected to conceal his homosexuality in his country of origin in order to avoid persecution."

Same-sex relationships are illegal in most African countries; out of 54 of the African nations, 38 criminalize homosexuality. Some of those countries include Western allies such as Uganda, Kenya, Botswana, and Nigeria -- and in Sudan and Mauritania, homosexuals can even receive the death penalty.

According to the Washington Post, homosexual Africans "have been denied access to health care, detained, tortured and even killed."

Banning LGBT lifestyles alone does not intrinsically suggest the approval of an asylum request in the EU. International law states, however, that any social group whose persecution violates human rights can claim refugee status.

To contact Executive Producer Raishad Hardnett, email him at hardnett@usc.edu.