CHAPTER IIIQUALIFICATION FOR BEING A REFUGEE
Article 9Acts of persecution
1
In order to be regarded as an act of persecution within the meaning of Article 1(A) of the Geneva Convention, an act must:
a
be sufficiently serious by its nature or repetition as to constitute a severe violation of basic human rights, in particular the rights from which derogation cannot be made under Article 15(2) of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms; or
b
be an accumulation of various measures, including violations of human rights which is sufficiently severe as to affect an individual in a similar manner as mentioned in point (a).
2
Acts of persecution as qualified in paragraph 1 can, inter alia, take the form of:
a
acts of physical or mental violence, including acts of sexual violence;
b
legal, administrative, police, and/or judicial measures which are in themselves discriminatory or which are implemented in a discriminatory manner;
c
prosecution or punishment which is disproportionate or discriminatory;
d
denial of judicial redress resulting in a disproportionate or discriminatory punishment;
e
prosecution or punishment for refusal to perform military service in a conflict, where performing military service would include crimes or acts falling within the scope of the grounds for exclusion as set out in Article 12(2);
f
acts of a gender-specific or child-specific nature.
3
In accordance with point (d) of Article 2, there must be a connection between the reasons mentioned in Article 10 and the acts of persecution as qualified in paragraph 1 of this Article or the absence of protection against such acts.