Eliana Rubashkyn

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Eliana Rubashkyn
File:Dont know how to copy.jpg
available on Wikipedia
Born (1988-06-25) June 25, 1988 (age 35)
Bogotá, Colombia
Citizenship New Zealand
Occupation pharmacist, chemist, molecular biologist, polyglot, human rights blog activist, ILGA world programme officer, harm reduction scientis, human rights campaign developer
Website soyeliana.org

Eliana Rubashkyn (born June 25, 1988) is a Colombian–born formerly stateless New Zealander, known internationally for being the first transgender woman recognised under international law as a woman without undergoing sex reassignment surgery. She is a pharmacist, chemist and polyglot; Eliana currently works as a programme officer at ILGA world,[1] and as a harm reduction scientist developing human right campaigns of support addressed to LGBTI asylum seekers, refugees and intersex persons around the world.[2]

Her gender was recognised under the United Nations' 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees.[3] Her case attracted international media and legal attention after she was detained at Hong Kong International Airport because of the lack of congruence between her gender identity and her passport photo[4] [5] [6] resulting in several years of statelessness in Hong Kong, and reclusion into several refuge centers across Yuen Long.

Early life

Rubashkyn was born in Colombia to Ukrainian Jewish parents (Wikipedia only says "mother") who had moved there in the 1970s.[7] She was assigned and raised male, with an intersex condition[8] known as Partial Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome.[9] [8][10]

Rubashkyn obtained her degree in pharmacy (and chemistry?) at the National University of Colombia.[11][12] (after?) She studied molecular biology at the University of Granada. (then?) She was then granted a scholarship to Taipei Medical University to develop postgraduate studies in public health, and started her gender transition in Taiwan.

Within a year, hormone replacement therapy changed her physical appearance dramatically due to her intersex condition, and the Taiwanese immigration authorities required her to update her passport at the closest Colombian consulate before she could begin her second year of master's studies. She travelled to Hong Kong to do so, but when she arrived at Hong Kong International Airport's immigration facility, (not on Wikipedia anymore: "facing deportation unable to seek asylum to be granted protection as a refugee in Hong Kong due to the government not having ratified the UN Refugee Convention,[13]") she was detained for over eight months in several detention and refugee centres because her appearance did not match her passport photo[14][15] (Wikipedia: because of her "ambiguous legal condition") suffering from abusive mistreatment and constant sexual abuse and harassment in several of the reclusion centres she lived[16].

She was also restrained in a psychiatric ward of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kowloon, caused by an attempted suicide, after being constantly mistreated and sexually abused.[17][18][19] (Not on Wikipedia anymore: [20][21])

Rubashkyn learned many languages fluently in the refugee centers they lived during 2012, 2013 and 2014.[22]

Statelessness

With the help of Amnesty International and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), she was granted refugee status. However, because Hong Kong is not a signatory of the 1951 refugee convention, it did not recognise her as a refugee and sought to deport them to Colombia. (Not on Wikipedia anymore: "Her citizenship was withdrawn".) In 2013, the UN sought another country to resettle her because of the lack of protections for LGBT people and refugees in Hong Kong.[23][24] They refused to contact her home embassy to prevent deportation because of the lack of diplomatic assistance they offered and she became de facto stateless from 30 October 2012 and remained so until 3 April 2018. Her position as a refugee limited the contact she could have with authorities from the government of Colombia.[25][26][27] Questions: 1. Note that her citizenship was withdrawn before the UN saught another country to settle her. Why did she become stateless? 2. If deportation is done by the host country in stead of the home country, how could contacting the home embassy have resulted in a deportation after citizenship withdrawal? 3. The lack of diplomatic assistance is a non-reason for not contacting the home embassy. 3.1. What did they have to lose if citizenship was already withdrawn? 3.2. How would they be aware of the lack of assistance without making contact? 3.3. Are they making prejudicial statements about the home embassy?

International response

Her case drew international attention, particularly in Southeast Asia and Colombia, where transgender people are often persecuted. Her case was also noted in New Zealand, a country known for its stance on equality for LGBT people.[28][29][30]

On 16 December 2013, the UN passed a resolution recognising Rubashkyn as woman under the UNHCR refugee system. She became the first transgender person recognised as a woman in China or Hong Kong without having undergone sex reassignment surgery.[31][32] (Wikipedia also excludes "medical intervention", but according to the same page "hormone replacement therapy changed her physical appearance dramatically". There is also no mention of her ever being accepted as a national by neither China nor Hong Kong.)

A CNN story about her struggle and a short documentary about her life in Hong Kong won a GLAAD Media Award in May 2015.[33][34]

New Zealand asylum & citizenship

In May 2014, New Zealand accepted Rubashkyn as a refugee and granted her asylum,[35] extending a universal recognition of her gender. Her case was the first in the world in which the gender identity of a transgender person was recognised internationally.[36][37] However again, only New-Zeeland is mentioned and no other country. There is also no mention of the mechanism extending the universal recognition.

After six years of statelessness on 3 April 2018, the government of New Zealand on behalf of the Ministry of Internal Affairs granted the New Zealand citizenship based on their exceptional and unique circumstances.[38]

She currently lives in Auckland, New Zealand.

Marriage

Depending on the source, on 2 June 2015 she married

Depending on unconfirmed interpretation of source[41], the NZ Registrar of Marriages caused some controversy in relation to the solemnisation of their marriage when,

  • in addition to her present legal name, they asked for her dead name to register the marriage.
  • rather than Eliana, she was forced to use her birth name on the registration.

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "3news" defined multiple times with different content
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11316450 The New Zealand Herald
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refdaily?pass=463ef21123&id=533cf1698 Transgender Refugee goes through hell in Hong Kong - UNHCR
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ http://www.glaad.org/tags/eliana-rubashkyn GLAAD Awards
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  40. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  41. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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