B. and C. v. Switzerland

Removal of a gay applicant to The Gambia without an adequate assessment of the risk from private actors and state protection would violate Article 3.

The applicant, a gay man who had lived in Switzerland for years, argued he would face persecution if returned to The Gambia. Swiss authorities did not sufficiently examine either the risk from non-state actors or the ability of Gambian authorities to protect him.

The Court held that national authorities must carry out an individualised assessment of both the risk of ill-treatment on account of sexual orientation and the effectiveness of state protection in the country of origin.

Leading authority on the duty of asylum authorities to assess private-actor risk and state protection in SOGI cases.