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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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13 February 2020

EASO publishes a COI report: Syria – Socio-economic situation in Damascus City

Today, the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) published a Country of Origin Information (COI) Report titled Syria: Socio-economic situation in Damascus City. This report is part of a series of Syria reports produced in 2019-2020. These reports cover actors of protection, internal mobility, key socio-economic indicators, and targeting of individuals. The reports provide information relevant for international protection status determination for Syrian asylum seekers and will be used in the development of a country guidance note on Syria.

Syrians continued to be the top citizenship applying for asylum in the EU+ uninterruptedly since 2013, although the number of applications lodged between January and November 2019 (some 65 600) was lower than in the same period in 2018 (about 69 900). Three in every four Syrian applications (almost 75 %) were lodged in four EU+ countries.

Syrian applicants also received more first-instance decisions than any other citizenship group. Since the beginning of 2019, Syrian applicants received some 72 200 decisions. Syria was also the country of origin whose nationals had the most cases pending at first instance in the EU+. At the end of November 2019, there were some 49 000 Syrian applications awaiting a first-instance decision, some 80 % of which were pending in just five EU+ countries.

The report, EASO COI Report: Socio-economic situation in Damascus City, explores key socio-economic indicators for the Governorate of Damascus, such as housing, healthcare, and education, as well as issues such as freedom of movement.

The report was drafted by Country of Origin Information (COI) researchers from EASO, in accordance with the EASO COI Report Methodology, and was reviewed by the COI Department of the Austrian Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum. Additionally, ACCORD, the Austrian Centre for Country of Origin and Asylum Research and Documentation conducted an external review.

Additional information to complement this report can be found in the following EASO reports:

  • Syrian Arab Republic

07 February 2020

EASO publishes a COI report: Syria – Situation of women

Today, the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) published a Country of Origin Information (COI) Report titled Syria: Situation of women. This report is part of a series of Syria reports produced in 2019-2020. These reports cover actors of protection, internal mobility, key socio-economic indicators, and targeting of individuals. The reports provide information relevant for international protection status determination for Syrian asylum seekers and will be used in the development of a country guidance note on Syria.

Syrians continued to be the top citizenship applying for asylum in the EU+ uninterruptedly since 2013, although the number of applications lodged between January and November 2019 (some 65 600) was lower than in the same period in 2018 (about 69 900). Three in every four Syrian applications (almost 75 %) were lodged in four EU+ countries.

Syrian applicants also received more first-instance decisions than any other citizenship group. Since the beginning of 2019, Syrian applicants received some 72 200 decisions. Syria was also the country of origin whose nationals had the most cases pending at first instance in the EU+. At the end of November 2019, there were some 49 000 Syrian applications awaiting a first-instance decision, some 80 % of which were pending in just five EU+ countries.

The report, EASO COI Report: Syria – Situation of women, analyses the situation of women in Syria, focusing mainly on the general situation of women in the country while also paying special attention to area-specific features in those parts of Syria under the control of non-state armed groups. The report was drafted by the Country of Origin Information (COI) specialists on Syria from Finland (Finnish Immigration Service), as referred to in the acknowledgments section in accordance with the EASO COI Report Methodology, and was reviewed by COI experts from Belgium and France. Additionally, an external expert review was carried out by ACCORD.

  • Syrian Arab Republic

06 February 2020

The Danish Immigration Service (Udlændingestyrelsen): COI - Lebanon - The situation of Palestinian refugees from Syria

The Danish Immigration Service had published the COI report on Lebanon, which focuses on the situation of Palestinian refugees from Syria (PRS). The report contains information on entry into and legal status in Lebanon, access to services, housing and the labour market, as well as protection by the authorities of single women against violence in private conflicts, prevalence of harassment or mistreatment of PRS in the Shia-/Hezbollah-dominated areas in the south and finally the prevalence of refoulement or pressure to return to Syria.

The report is the product of a fact finding mission conducted by the Country of Origin Information Division, Danish Immigration Service (DIS) to Beirut, Lebanon, from 30 June to 7 July 2019.

The report is available on this link: https://coi.easo.europa.eu/administration/denmark/PLib/Landerapport_Lebanon_FFM_rapport_2019.pdf

 

  • Lebanon

27 January 2020

EASO publishes a COI report: Syria – Exercise of authority in recaptured areas

Today, the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) published a Country of Origin Information (COI) Report titled Syria: Exercise of authority in recaptured areas. This report is part of a series of Syria reports produced in 2019-2020. These reports cover actors of protection, internal mobility, key socio-economic indicators, and targeting of individuals. The reports provide information relevant for international protection status determination for Syrian asylum seekers and will be used in the development of a country guidance note on Syria.

Syrians continued to be the top citizenship applying for asylum in the EU+ uninterruptedly since 2013, although the number of applications lodged between January and November 2019 (some 65 600) was lower than in the same period in 2018 (about 69 900). Three in every four Syrian applications (almost 75 %) were lodged in four EU+ countries.

Syrian applicants also received more first-instance decisions than any other citizenship group. Since the beginning of 2019, Syrian applicants received some 72 200 decisions. Syria was also the country of origin whose nationals had the most cases pending at first instance in the EU+. At the end of November 2019, there were some 49 000 Syrian applications awaiting a first-instance decision, some 80 % of which were pending in just five EU+ countries.

The report, EASO COI Report: Syria – Exercise of authority in recaptured areas, concerns the Syrian territories, which have been outside the control of the Government of Syria and returned to its control through so-called reconciliation agreements. It explores how these agreements were reached, their consequences for the population of the respective areas, as well as how the Government of Syria exerts its control in the aftermath.

The report was drafted by the Country of Origin Information (COI) specialists on Syria from Norway (Landinfo), as referred to in the acknowledgments section in accordance with the EASO COI Report Methodology, and was reviewed by COI experts from the Netherlands. Additionally, an external expert reviews were carried out by ACCORD.

Additional information to complement this report can be found in the following EASO reports:

  • Syrian Arab Republic

13 January 2020

Ministry of Foreign Affairs (COI Department) Netherlands - COI report - Syria documents

The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs has published a thematic country of origin information report about Syrian documents. These documents are important for the assessment of asylum and family reunification applications by persons originating from Syria. It is an update and extension of the thematic country of origin information report on Syrian documents of 9 October 2017 and the section on documents in the thematic country of origin information report on the Syrian security situation that was published on 4 July 2019. 

The report is in English and can be downloaded here: https://coi.easo.europa.eu/administration/netherlands/_layouts/15/WopiFrame.aspx?sourcedoc=/administration/netherlands/PLib/COI_report_on_Syrian_documents.pdf

  • Syrian Arab Republic