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Important news from EUAA and the world of COI

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The News section aims to inform users about recent COI publications or upcoming workshops/conferences. EUAA selects information provided in the News section according to its relevance to the COI and asylum fields. EUAA welcomes suggestions to insert a particular news (event, publication).

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07 March 2018

EASO publishes a COI Meeting Report on Pakistan

On 16 and 17 October 2017, EASO organised a Practical Cooperation Conference on Pakistan in Rome, in the framework of EASO's Operating Plan in Italy.

Following the need expressed by the Italian National Asylum Commission and other EU+ countries for accurate information on specific topics on Pakistan, and in view of a more harmonised approach to Country of Origin Information (COI) and decision practice in the EU+, EASO brought together around 100 participants, including COI specialists, caseworkers and decision-makers from many EU+ countries, Italian members of courts and tribunals, EU institutions, UNHCR and IOM.

EASO invited the guest speakers mentioned in the Acknowledgement section of the report, to share their expertise and field knowledge on Pakistan on selected topics and recent developments in the country.

This Conference Report includes reworked transcripts of the presentations.

Content
  • Overview of the current political and security situation in Pakistan
  • Sectarian politics
  • Private conflicts
  • Fact Finding Mission to Pakistan
  • Religious minorities
  • Security situation in  different regions and emerging trends
  • Insurgent politics
  • Main patterns and drivers of migration
  • Political life in Pakistan
  • The situation in Karachi
  • UNHCR Eligibility Guidelines on the International Protection Needs of Members of Religious Minorities from Pakistan
The report can be downloaded at:

https://coi.easo.europa.eu/administration/easo/PLib/EASO_Pakistan_Meeting_Report_October_2017.pdf

05 March 2018

New French Fact-Finding Mission Report on Guinea

The French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (OFPRA), together with the French Cour Nationale du Droit d’Asile (CNDA), conducted a fact-finding mission to Guinea between 7-18 November 2017, aimed at collecting and updating information on the main grounds indicated in international protection applications by Guinean nationals in France.

Political and religious grounds, land conflicts, FGM/C, early marriage and sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) are among the main topics covered by this report.

25 January 2018

EASO publishes a Country of Origin Information (COI) report on Networks in Afghanistan

The European Asylum Support Office (EASO) published the Country of Origin Information (COI) Report titled ‘Afghanistan: Networks’. In 2016, Afghanistan ranked second in the top countries of origin in EU+ countries, with more than 175,000 applicants. In the first eleven months of 2017, close to 45,000 applications have been lodged in the EU+ by Afghans, ranking third (in the overall applications to date). In addition, the Afghan applications constitute the largest backlog of all countries of origin. At the end of November 2017, there were more than 53,000 asylum applications from Afghan nationals in the EU+ pending at first instance.
 
The report was drafted by COI researchers from the Norwegian Country of Origin Information Centre, Landinfo, in accordance with the EASO COI Report Methodology. The report was reviewed by COI researchers from Austria, the Netherlands and EASO. 

The report describes various types of networks in Afghanistan and the significance of these networks for individuals and families, be it during displacement, or for reintegration after return from abroad or after internal displacement within the country. Firstly, a number of types of networks are described, ranging from the extended family to tribes, clans, ethnic and other networks.  Core principles, obligations and loyalties exist within these networks, and are discussed accordingly. The second chapter looks at the role networks play when it comes to individual and group decisions concerning internal and external migration. A separate sub-chapter examines the situation for unaccompanied minors. The tird chapter looks at how migrants and networks maintain contact. Finally, the report focuses on issues relevant to networks in relation to settlement and reintegration (employment, housing, etc.) upon return from abroad or after internal relocation.

In 2017, EASO published several COI Reports on Afghanistan, titled Key socio-economic indicators, state protection, and mobility in Kabul City, Mazar-e Sharif, and Herat City (August 2017); Individuals targeted by armed actors in the conflict (December 2017); Individuals targeted under societal and legal norms (December 2017); and Afghanistan – Security Situation (December 2017). A further update of the EASO COI Report Afghanistan – Security Situation is expected in spring 2018.

It is EASO’s intention to continue to produce such reports on important countries of origin and to update them regularly in order to raise and harmonise COI standards in the EU and to further support the practical implementation of the Common European Asylum System.

Download Report on https://coi.easo.europa.eu/administration/easo/PLib/Afghanistan_Networks.pdf 

22 December 2017

EASO publishes a COI report on the security situation in Afghanistan

​Today, the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) published a Country of Origin Information (COI) Report entitled 'Afghanistan – security situation'. The report is a third update of the version first published in February 2015 and provides a comprehensive overview of the security situation in Afghanistan, information relevant for the protection status determination of Afghan asylum seekers.

In the first ten months of 2017, more than 40,000 applications have been lodged in the EU+ by Afghans, ranking third in the top countries of origin in EU+ countries. In addition, Afghan applications constitute the largest backlog of all countries of origin. At the end of October 2017, there were more than 64,000 asylum applications from Afghan nationals in the EU+ pending at first instance. 

The 'Afghanistan security situation' report provides a general description of the security situation in Afghanistan, covering the following topics: a brief context of the situation; actors in the conflict; security trends and armed confrontations, description of tactics and arms used; state ability to secure law and order; impact of the violence on the civilian population; and the geographical overview of the security situation.

The report also provides a description of the security situation in each of the 34 provinces and Kabul City. In these chapters, a general overview of the province is given, followed by a background on the conflict and actors in the province, and recent security trends including data on violent incidents and qualitative information on the type of violence. Finally, a brief overview of violence-induced displacement is given.

The terms of reference of this report were defined based on information needs identified by asylum policy experts in EU+ countries and UNHCR. The report presents information until 31 August 2017.

The report was co-drafted by EASO and researchers from national COI units in Belgium, Finland, France, Poland and Slovakia, as well as the Austrian Red Cross/ACCORD, in accordance with the EASO COI Report Methodology. The report was reviewed and commented upon by COI researchers from Austria, The Netherlands, and UNHCR.

It is EASO's intention to continue to produce such reports on important countries of origin and to update them regularly in order to raise and harmonise COI standards in the EU and to further support the practical implementation of the Common European Asylum System.

The report can be downloaded via https://coi.easo.europa.eu/administration/easo/PLib/EASO_Afghanistan_security_situation_2017.pdf

21 December 2017

EASO publishes a Country of Origin Information (COI) report on security situation in Somalia

​Today, the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) published a Country of Origin Information (COI) Report entitled 'Somalia security situation'. The report is the third EASO COI report on Somalia, and provides an update of the EASO COI report on Somalia security situation, published in February 2016.

In the first ten months of 2017, nationals from Somalia lodged close to 12 000 applications in the EU+, ranking 14th among the most common citizenships of origin of applicants. While the number of Somali applications awaiting a first-instance decision has decreased by 57% in the past 12 months, from more than 27 000 in October 2016 to close to 11 600 at the end of October 2017, Somalia still represented a significant decision-making backlog and ranked 13th in terms of pending cases at  first-instance in the EU+.

The report provides an overview of the security situation in Somalia, information relevant for the protection status determination of Somali applicants for international protection. The first part of the report provides a general description of the security situation in Somalia, covering the following topics: a brief overview of the political and economic situation; actors in the conflict (state's armed forces, international forces and armed groups); the impact of the violence on the state ability to secure law and order, with descriptions of the Judiciary, detention conditions and death penalty; the impact of the violence on the civilian population, and the impact of the current drought.

In the second part, the report describes the security situation in different regions in Somalia, including the capital Mogadishu. These chapters provide a general overview of the region, followed by the major violent incidents. The report outlines the actors in each region and the areas of control or influence by each of these actors. Finally, the report provides information on the impact of the violence on the population. The reference period for the security report runs from January 2016 until 31 August 2017.

This new report is to a large extent based on a joint fact-finding mission report by the Austrian Bundesamt für Fremdwesen und Asyl/Staatendokumentation and the Swiss Staatssekretariat für Migration, as well as a joint fact-finding mission report by the Danish Immigration Service and the Danish Refugee Council. Findings from these fact-finding missions were combined with desk research. A researcher from Denmark participated in the drafting process of this report jointly with EASO. In accordance with the EASO COI Report Methodology, the report was reviewed by experts from Belgium, Italy, The Netherlands and Norway, in order to ensure the highest quality.

It is EASO's intention to continue to produce such reports on important countries of origin and to update them on a regular basis in order to raise and harmonise COI standards in the EU and to further support the practical implementation of the Common European Asylum System.

The report can be downloaded from https://coi.easo.europa.eu/administration/easo/PLib/EASO_Somalia_security_situation_2017.pdf.