Westminster PhD Architecture 2020 graduate, Philip Luhl, has helped changed the law on LGBTQ+ rights in Namibia after a court ruled that Philip and his partner’s son, born via surrogacy in South Africa in 2019, is a Namibian citizen by descent. The decision is hailed as ‘big win’ for same-sex couples.
According to Reuters, Namibia's legal system does not recognise same-sex marriages and criminalises sexual contact between men, though the law is seldom enforced.
Philip Luhl and his Mexican husband, Guillermo Delgado, were fighting to register their two-year-old son, Yona Delgado-Luhl, as a citizen of Namibia by descent, however, they were refused the right to as he was born via surrogacy to the binational gay couple. Namibian authorities said Luhl must prove a genetic link to the children.
High Court Judge Thomas Masuku ruled that a paternity test is not needed to prove that Yona Luhl-Delgado is the son of Namibian Phillip Luhl and his Mexican husband, Guillermo Delgado.
Judge Masuku ordered the ministry of home affairs and immigration to pay the couple's costs and issue national documents to Yona within 30 days.
Reuters reports that Luhl told reporters outside the court that the couple was happy with the ruling. He said: "This is a step in the right direction."
Tabatha Mills, a member of Westminster's Q+ Network from the School of Architecture, said: “As a parent in a same sex relationship, I read the article about Philip Luhl and his family with a mixture of emotion; initially with gratitude that I am raising my family in a country that has afforded me and my children legal recognition of our family make up. Secondly, disappointment and sadness, as I remember the legal hoops that we had to jump through having children either side of the Equality Act (2010) which was the milestone to birth certificates in this country recognising p'arents', rather than 'mothers and fathers'. This meant I had to adopt my own eldest child in order to appear on their birth certificate.
"Most importantly however, I am filled with hope. Hope that Phil and his family have made a difference to their own lives and the lives of so many to come, and that equality in Namibia is around the corner for families like ours.”
Read more about the case on Reuters.
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