The Law of War

During the Wars of the Roses, when the Yorkists or Lancastrians would suddenly get
the upper hand by winning a battle, some adherents of the losing side might find
themselves surrounded by adherents of the other side and not able to get back to their
own side. Upon realizing this situation they would rush to sanctuary at the nearest
church until it was safe to come out. A prime example is Queen Elizabeth Woodville,
consort of Edward IV of England.
In 1470, when the Lancastrians briefly restored Henry VI to the throne, Queen Elizabeth
was living in London with several young daughters. She moved with them into
Westminster for sanctuary, living there in royal comfort until Edward IV was restored to
the throne in 1471 and giving birth to their first son Edward V during that time. When
King Edward IV died in 1483, Elizabeth (who was highly unpopular with even the
Yorkists and probably did need protection) took her five daughters and youngest son
(Richard, Duke of York) and again moved into sanctuary at Westminster. To be sure
she had all the comforts of home, she brought so much furniture and so many chests
that the workmen had to knock holes in some of the walls to get everything in fast
enough to suit her.
Modern Political Asylum
Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that "Everyone has the
right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution." The United
Nations 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol
Relating to the Status of Refugees guides national legislation concerning political
asylum. Under these agreements, a refugee (or for cases where repressing base
means has been applied directly or environmentally to the refugee) is a person who is
outside that person's own country's territory (or place of habitual residence if stateless)
owing to fear of persecution on protected grounds.
Protected grounds include race, caste, nationality, religion, political opinions and
membership and/or participation in any particular social group or social activities.
Rendering true victims of persecution to their persecutor is a violation of a principle
called non-refoulement, part of the customary and trucial Law of Nations.
These are the accepted terms and criteria as principles and a fundamental part in the
1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees non-refoulement
order.
Since the 1990s, victims of sexual persecution (which may include domestic violence, or
systematic oppression of a gender or sexual minority) have come to be accepted in
some countries as a legitimate category for asylum claims, when claimants can prove
that the state is unable or unwilling to provide protection.
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