Political asylum is the refuge provided to a foreign person who was expelled or had to flee their country for reasons linked to politics.
Political asylum is the assistance granted to a foreign individual who had to flee or was expelled from his or her country for reasons related to politics . This type of asylum is usually understood as the right of a subject not to be extradited from one nation to another that seeks to punish him for his political opinions or activities.
It should be noted that the term asylum refers to the help, shelter or protection that is provided to a person. Political , for its part, is a concept with several uses: in this case we are interested in its meaning as that linked to political activity (the actions developed to manage or administer public affairs).
History of political asylum
The history of the asylum is extensive and its trajectory is worthy of being studied carefully to appreciate its evolution. At first, it was a measure within the scope of religion, which was carried out to provide protection to individuals who violated the law without participating in conflicts of a political nature, that is, to common criminals. Since the rulers did not show any mercy for these people, asylum was allocated exclusively to them, leaving out political criminals.
The Reform generated an inversion in this point of view, and so over the years this social institution began to be oriented towards people persecuted by the rulers because of their ideals and stopped benefiting common criminals.
With respect to the space in which political asylum can be offered, it is worth mentioning that since ancient times and until times after the Middle Ages , religious buildings were used; Currently, however, all of the land of a foreign State is used to grant political asylum.
Political asylum is contemplated in the laws.
Diplomatic assistance
On the other hand, there is the concept of diplomatic asylum , which serves to describe the permanence in an area of the national territory of a person persecuted by his or her country to be tried for a political crime. Among the sites that are considered part of this group, according to diplomatic conventions, we have the residence of the ambassador, a warship temporarily anchored in a foreign port and the headquarters of the consulate or embassy.
The poet and jurist Hugo Grocio , born in the Netherlands on April 10, 1583 and one of the greatest defenders of the absolute State, was the author of the thesis of extraterritoriality of embassies and legations , where he expressed that diplomatic asylum occurred naturally. when the persecuted person was received on foreign soil , which is why protection was not only given if he managed to cross the borders of his country but also if he was granted asylum in an embassy or legation of a foreign country. Currently, this type of asylum is not recognized by international law .
Political asylum according to the law
The right to asylum is regulated by various international standards that establish obligations and responsibilities for host countries and for individuals seeking asylum. The purpose of political asylum is to protect the person who, due to their political ideas or actions, suffers persecution in their country. If the host country rejects asylum and the individual must return home, he or she may be imprisoned or otherwise punished there.
Regarding the extension of the right of political asylum, we must distinguish the following four points: the right that a country has to give asylum to an individual persecuted by its government; the active exercise of said right; the tolerance of such exercise; the acceptance of political asylum as a concept that allows a person to be protected against political persecution .