Non-State Actors and Asylum Law: Gangs, Families, and Armed Groups

Last updated: 5 October 2026

Photo: Ganges - Ben Stephenson

Many asylum seekers worry that their claim will fail because the persecutor is "only" a gang, a family, or an armed group, not the government itself. This worry is often wrong. Asylum law clearly recognises non-state actors as persecutors when the state cannot or will not protect. This is true under the UNHCR Handbook, the EU Qualification Directive, the UK common law, and the United States framework. This guide explains the legal framework, the main types of non-state actors, the practical test, and the most common pitfalls.

Whether you are an applicant, a lawyer, or an expert witness, understanding non-state actors is essential — the majority of modern claims involve them. The article assumes you already know the basics of refugee status; for a primer, see our broader asylum guide.

The Legal Framework: Four Pillars

Four legal sources together form the framework for non-state actor claims. Together, they make clear that asylum law has accepted non-state persecution for decades.

1. UNHCR Handbook, paragraph 65. Persecution may come "from sections of the population that do not respect the standards established by the laws of the country". If the authorities knowingly tolerate the harm, or refuse, or are unable to provide effective protection, the person can be a refugee. This is the foundation.[1]

2. EU Qualification Directive 2011/95/EU, Article 6. Actors of persecution include "non-State actors, if it can be demonstrated that the [state]... [is] unable or unwilling to provide protection". Article 7 says protection must be "effective and of a non-temporary nature".[2]

3. UK House of Lords, Horvath v SSHD [2001] UKHL 39. The standard is "sufficiency of protection" — a real and effective system, not a perfect one. The state must have laws, the will and capacity to enforce them, and the claimant must have access in practice.[3]

4. US Board of Immigration Appeals, Matter of Acosta, 19 I&N Dec. 211 (BIA 1985). Persecution can come from non-state actors when the government is "unable or unwilling to control" them. This formula has been applied in cases involving gangs, domestic violence, and ethnic mobs.[4]

Five Categories of Non-State Actors

Non-state actors fall into five common categories. Each has different patterns, and understanding the category helps frame the legal claim and gather the right evidence.

1. Criminal Gangs (MS-13, Cartels)

Gangs operate where the state has lost control of territory or institutions. In Central America, MS-13 and Barrio 18 control entire neighbourhoods in El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala. They extort small businesses, recruit young men, and target women as forced "girlfriends". In Mexico, the Sinaloa Cartel and CJNG kill journalists, indigenous leaders, and witnesses. Even after El Salvador's 2022 mass arrests, returning deportees with prior gang history face serious risk.[5]

2. Families (Honour, Forced Marriage, Blood Feuds)

Family persecution is one of the oldest patterns in refugee law. Women and girls who refuse forced marriage, leave abusive husbands, or have relationships outside marriage face severe punishment, including murder, in many parts of South Asia, the Middle East, and parts of Europe. Honour killings are documented across Pakistan, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, and Turkey. In Albania, blood feuds (Kanun) make whole male lines targets.[6]

3. Armed Groups (Taliban, Al-Shabaab, ISIS, Boko Haram)

Armed non-state groups often control territory and operate with effective sovereignty. The Taliban, since August 2021, target women's rights activists, former government workers, judges, journalists, the Hazara minority, and those who worked with NATO. Al-Shabaab in Somalia targets clan minorities and women refusing forced marriage to fighters. Boko Haram and ISWAP in Nigeria's north-east target Christians and educated women. ISIS-K continues attacks across Afghanistan and Pakistan.[7]

4. Communities (Homophobic Mobs, Religious Mobs)

Some persecution does not come from one organised group but from a wider section of society. LGBTQ+ people in Uganda, Russia, Iran, and many other countries face mob violence. In Pakistan, blasphemy accusations regularly trigger lynchings of Christians and Ahmadis. In parts of Nigeria and Ghana, "witches" — often elderly women — are still attacked.[8]

5. Traffickers

Human trafficking networks form a distinct category. Women trafficked from Nigeria, Vietnam, Albania, or Moldova who escape and reach safety often face threats from the same network. Trafficking-based asylum claims are recognised by UNHCR Guideline No 7 and by the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (CETS No 197).[9]

Categories with Key Features and Case Law

The Test for Refugee Status: Two Steps

For an asylum claim involving a non-state actor to succeed, two steps must be answered "yes":

Step 1: Well-founded fear from the non-state actor. The applicant must show that the threats from the gang, family, armed group, or mob are real, serious enough to amount to persecution, and linked to a Refugee Convention reason — race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership of a particular social group.[10]

Step 2: State cannot or will not protect. The applicant must show that the home state's protection is not sufficient. This means real, effective, accessible protection in practice. The Horvath test is the gold standard — does the state have laws, can the police and courts enforce them, can the applicant access this system?[11]

Common Pitfalls

Three pitfalls cause many non-state actor claims to fail unfairly.

Not Explaining Why the Police Could Not Help

The most common reason for refusal is that the decision-maker says: "You did not go to the police, so you cannot show the state would not protect." Applicants must directly address this. Sometimes the applicant did go to the police and was turned away, threatened, or even handed back to the persecutor. Sometimes going to the police would have made the situation worse — for example, in many gang-controlled areas, police talk to gangs. Sometimes the applicant tried but the police did nothing. All these stories must be told clearly, with detail, names, dates, and (where possible) documents.[12]

Internal Relocation Arguments

The second pitfall is internal relocation. The decision-maker may say: "Even if you cannot live safely at home, you could move to another part of the country." For each non-state actor, the answer differs. Maras have national networks across El Salvador and Honduras. The Taliban control all of Afghanistan. The 'Ndrangheta operates throughout Italy and abroad. By contrast, a small clan feud in one province may not extend to the capital. The applicant must address relocation directly with country evidence and, ideally, expert evidence.[13]

Linking Persecution to a Convention Reason

The third pitfall is the Convention reason. Pure criminal extortion, with no link to race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership of a particular social group, may not qualify. But many non-state actor cases do qualify — for example, gang victims who refuse to join can sometimes be a "particular social group" (PSG); women resisting forced marriage are recognised as a PSG in many jurisdictions; LGBTQ+ identity is a clear PSG. The legal categorisation must be precise.[14]

Expert Evidence Is Essential

An expert report should typically cover: (1) the structure and reach of the non-state actor; (2) the state's response, both formal and actual, to this kind of harm; (3) whether internal relocation is realistic for this profile; (4) recent country developments; and (5) the specific factors making this applicant at risk. Find an expert witness with relevant country knowledge as early in the case as possible.

UNHCR Speaks Plainly

Persecution is normally related to action by the authorities of a country. It may, however, also emanate from sections of the population that do not respect the standards established by the laws of the country concerned... Where serious discriminatory or other offensive acts are committed by the local populace, they can be considered as persecution if they are knowingly tolerated by the authorities, or if the authorities refuse, or prove unable, to offer effective protection.
UNHCR Handbook on Procedures and Criteria for Determining Refugee Status, paragraph 65

Conclusion: The Door Is Open — But You Must Walk Through Carefully

Non-state actor claims are recognised across all major asylum systems. UNHCR, the EU, the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, and many others have settled this. Gangs, families, armed groups, mobs, and traffickers can all be persecutors. What matters is the link to a Convention ground and the failure of state protection.

For applicants, the practical advice is simple: tell the full story (including all attempts to seek police help), provide as much country evidence as possible, address internal relocation directly, and obtain expert evidence early. For lawyers and decision-makers, the framework is well-established — the work is in applying it carefully to the facts. For more practical material, see the rest of our asylum guide and our country-specific country reports.