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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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30 October 2020

EASO publishes a COI report: Pakistan – Security Situation

On 30 October 2020, the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) published a Country of Origin Information (COI) report entitled: Pakistan Security situation.

The newly released report provides information on the security situation in Pakistan, which is relevant for the assessment of international protection status determination, including refugee status and subsidiary protection.

With just over 26 500 applications in 2019 and almost 12 000 from January to September 2020, Pakistan was the sixth most important country of origin for asylum applicants in the EU+ in both years. However, compared to the same period in 2019, the number of Pakistani applications between January and September 2020 decreased by 37 % due to the COVID-19 pandemic and related emergency measures. At the end of September 2020, close to 19 200 Pakistani cases were awaiting a first-instance decision, down from almost 21 200 cases at the end of 2019. The recognition rate for Pakistani nationals has been relatively low, with just 8 % receiving some form of EU-regulated protection between January and September 2020, down from 10 % during the same period in 2019.

The security situation in Pakistan has been influenced by both internal and external security issues. The main internal security challenges consist of political and economic instability, ethnic and sectarian conflicts, religious extremism and militancy; while external security challenges are linked to the relationship of Pakistan with neighbouring countries such as Afghanistan and India. Militant violence in the country is mainly caused by the separatist insurgency in Balochistan and the instability in the north-west of the country resulting from the 2001 toppling of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.

The report is divided in two parts: the first part provides a general description on the security situation in Pakistan; the second part explains the security situation per province in more detail, including information on population, background of the conflict, actors active; as well as quantitative and qualitative information on recent security trends and impact of violence on the civilian population.

This report was drafted by a COI specialist from the Belgian Centre for Documentation and Research (Cedoca) in the Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons, in accordance with the EASO COI Report Methodology. It was reviewed by experts from Austria (Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum, Country of Origin Information Department), Poland (Country of Origin Information Unit, Department for Refugee Procedures, Office for Foreigners) and ACCORD, the Austrian Centre for Country of Origin and Asylum Research and Documentation.

  • Pakistan

20 October 2020

EASO publishes a COI report on Iraq: Treatment of Iraqis with perceived affiliation to ISIL

Today, the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) published a Country of Origin Information (COI) Report on Iraq. The report is titled Iraq: Treatment of Iraqis with perceived affiliation to ISIL. This report is a part of a series of Iraq reports that produced in 2020. These reports cover the security situation, key socio-economic indicators, and the targeting of individuals of different profiles. The reports provide information relevant for international protection status determination for Iraqi applicants and will be used to update the EASO Country Guidance on Iraq 2020.

The report, Iraq: Treatment of Iraqis with perceived affiliation to ISIL, should be read in conjunction with the other reports on Iraq that will be published later in 2020.

Iraqi applications for international protection in the EU+ have been decreasing since 2016. Nevertheless, Iraqi nationals ranked fifth among the most common citizenships in the EU+ in 2019 with over 30 000 applications. In the first quarter of 2020, Iraqis lodged some 6 100 applications, fewer than in the first quarter of 2019. Subsequently, the number decreased even more as asylum authorities in EU+ countries implemented restrictive measures to halt the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, in the first six months of 2020, Iraqi nationals lodged just under 8 500 applications in EU+ countries, almost half compared to the same period in 2019. Nevertheless, Iraq kept the fifth position among the most common countries of origin. In the first six months of 2020, approximately 11 900 first-instance decisions were issued on Iraqi applicants, with a recognition rate for EU-regulated types of protection at 38 %. The number of pending cases at first instance has gradually decreased over the last six months, so that in the end of June 2020 there were some 15 800 cases awaiting a decision.  Germany has been the main destination country for Iraqi applicants: from April 2019 to March 2020 almost half of all Iraqi applications in the EU+ were lodged in Germany.

The report focuses on the treatment of Iraqis, including children, who are perceived to be affiliated with the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) by state actors, such as the security forces and the judicial system. Furthermore, it analyses the treatment of families of perceived ISIL members, and also covers access for Iraqis perceived as having ISIL ties to effective redress measures and state protection.

The report was drafted by France's Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (OFPRA), Information, Documentation and Research Division (DIDR), in accordance with the EASO COI Report Methodology. Together with EASO, it was reviewed by COI experts from the Danish Immigration Service and by the civil society organisation, the Austrian Centre for Country of Origin and Asylum Research and Documentation (ACCORD).

The report can be downloaded from the EASO COI Portal on the following link.

  • Iraq

15 October 2020

EASO publishes a COI report on Iraq: The Protest Movement and Treatment of Protesters

Today, the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) published a Country of Origin Information (COI) Report on Iraq. The report is titled Iraq: The Protest Movement and Treatment of Protesters. This report is a part of a series of Iraq reports that will be produced in 2020. These reports cover the security situation, key socio-economic indicators, and the targeting of individuals of different profiles. The reports provide information relevant for international protection status determination for Iraqi applicants and will be used to update the EASO Country Guidance on Iraq 2020.

The report, Iraq: The Protest Movement and Treatment of Protesters, should be read in conjunction with the other reports on Iraq that will be published later in 2020.

Iraqi applications for international protection in the EU+ have been decreasing since 2016. Nevertheless, Iraqi nationals ranked fifth among the most common citizenships in the EU+ in 2019 with over 30 000 applications. In the first quarter of 2020, Iraqis lodged some 6 100 applications, fewer than in the first quarter of 2019. Subsequently, the number decreased even more as asylum authorities in EU+ countries implemented restrictive measures to halt the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, in the first six months of 2020, Iraqi nationals lodged just under 8 500 applications in EU+ countries, almost half compared to the same period in 2019. Nevertheless, Iraq kept the fifth position among the most common countries of origin. In the first six months of 2020, approximately 11 900 first-instance decisions were issued on Iraqi applicants, with a recognition rate for EU-regulated types of protection at 38 %. The number of pending cases at first instance has gradually decreased over the last six months, so that in the end of June 2020 there were some 15 800 cases awaiting a decision.  Germany has been the main destination country for Iraqi applicants: from April 2019 to March 2020 almost half of all Iraqi applications in the EU+ were lodged in Germany.

Iraq: The Protest Movement and Treatment of Protesters provides information about the recent 2019-2020 protest movements in Iraq, focusing mainly on the central/south regions. It covers protest aims, main locations, political initiatives to address the protests, and how protests were organised. It also covers the treatment of protesters, encompassing the response by the state to protests, impacts on freedom of assembly, as well as reports of arrests and detention of protesters and activists, for example. Furthermore, the report covers accountability and access to redress measures arising from the state's response to protests.

The report was drafted by Norway's Country of Origin Information Centre, Landinfo, in accordance with the EASO COI Report Methodology. It was reviewed by Austria's Country of Origin Department, within the Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum and by the civil society organisation, the Austrian Centre for Country of Origin and Asylum Research and Documentation (ACCORD).

The report can be downloaded from the EASO COI Portal on the following link. 

  • Iraq

01 October 2020

The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs translates recently published COI reports on Azerbaijan, China, Libya, Venezuela and Syria

The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs has facilitated translations from Dutch to English of their recently published Country of Origin Information Reports on Azerbaijan (July 2020), China (July 2020), Libya (June 2020), Venezuela (June 2020), and Syria (May 2020). The reports can be found at the following links:

  • Azerbaijan
  • China
  • Libya
  • Syrian Arab Republic
  • Venezuela

28 September 2020

EASO publishes a COI report: Afghanistan, Security Situation (2020 update)

On 28 September 2020, the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) published a Country of Origin Information (COI) report titled 'Afghanistan, Security Situation'

The EASO COI report Afghanistan: Security Situation (2020 update) aims to provide information on the security situation in Afghanistan, which is relevant for the assessment of international protection status determination, including refugee status and subsidiary protection.

The security situation in Afghanistan remained volatile during the reference period (1 March 2019 – 30 June 2020), while the conflict continued to be described as one of the deadliest in the world for civilians. On 29 February 2020, after more than 18 years of conflict, the US and the Taliban signed in Doha an 'agreement for bringing peace' to Afghanistan. Despite significant fluctuations in violence during the peace talks and periods of reduction in violence following the Doha agreement, several sources reported a spike in violence during the first six months of 2020, with an increase in the number of civilian casualties, particularly in the northern and north-eastern regions. After the agreement, the Taliban issued a statement declaring that fighting will continue regardless of the deal with the US; in some areas of the country, the group has reportedly intensified attacks against the Afghan National Security Forces.

The first part of the report provides a general overview of the security situation in Afghanistan, including conflict background and actors involved, main security incidents and their impact on the civilian population. The second part holds a geographic subdivision (Kabul city, plus 34 provinces), focusing in greater detail on the security situation in Kabul city and in each province, including a description of the armed actors active, recent security incidents, data on civilian casualties, and conflict-induced displacements.

This report is produced in line with the EASO COI Report Methodology, and was co-drafted by experts from Belgium, Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons, Cedoca (Centre for Documentation and Research); France, Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless persons (OFPRA), Information, Documentation and Research Division (DIDR); Poland, Department of Refugee and Asylum Proceedings; and researchers from EASO COI sector. In addition, the report was reviewed by Germany, Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF); Slovakia, Migration Office, Department of Documentation and Foreign Cooperation; and by ACCORD, the Austrian Centre for Country of Origin and Asylum Research and Documentation.

With 2.7 million refugees as of the end of 2019, Afghanistan was the third largest country of origin of refugees in the world. Afghan continued to be the second most common citizenship of asylum applicants in the EU+ as of June 2020.

The EASO COI report Afghanistan – Security Situation, September 2020 is the last one of a series of COI reports on Afghanistan published by EASO between July and September 2020. The other reports of the series can be found at following links:

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  • Afghanistan