COI News

Important news from EASO and the world of COI

Our approach to COI news

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

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19 September 2016

EASO publishes COI report on recruitment by armed groups in Afghanistan

Today, the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) published a Country of Origin Information (COI) Report entitled 'Afghanistan – Recruitment by armed groups'. The report is an update of a previous report published in 2012 and provides an overview of recruitment practices of armed groups in Afghanistan, providing information relevant for protection status determination of Afghan asylum applicants. In the first seven months of 2016, Afghanistan ranked 2nd in the top countries of origin in EU+ countries. with a total of almost 110 239 applicants.
The EASO COI report on recruitment by armed groups in Afghanistan provides a description of the of recruitment practices in Afghanistan, by the insurgent factions of the Afghan Taliban, the Islamic State in Khorasan (IS) and the Hezb-e Islami group led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. The report also looks into recruitment by the Afghan Local Police (ALP) and pro-government militias (PGM). In a last chapter, information is presented on the specific issue of under-age or child recruitment. This is a topic of particular concern since a high percentage of the Afghan asylum applicants in Europe concerns Unaccompanied Minors. Depending on the EU+ country, this percentage varies from 0 to 54 % and on average it is over 14 %.
The report was co-drafted by Cedoca, the COI unit of the Belgian Office of the Commissioner-General for Refugees and Stateless persons and EASO. The report was written in accordance with the EASO COI Report Methodology and presents information until 19 August 2016, stemming from publicly available sources and a series of interviews conducted with experts on the matter, named in the report. The report was reviewed by peers from EU Member States, by UNHCR, and by an expert from the Afghanistan Analysts Network.
The report describes the transition of the Taliban into a more conventional armed force since the withdrawal of foreign troops, as well as the establishment of a new Taliban mobile elite force, called qet'a. Furthermore, opinions of experts are presented on the traditional role of the tribe or family in the recruitment process. The Taliban are still an overwhelmingly Pashtun movement, but some episodes of Hazaras joining the Taliban's ranks have been noted. The report covers the important topic of 'forced recruitment' by Taliban and IS, both insurgent groups but with a different ideology. Regarding recruitment by ALP and PGM, the report highlights the formal role of the local community council (shura) or local strongmen, but also problems related to this. Of particular concern is the recruitment of minors or children by all parties in the conflict. The report discusses the economic incentives, the role of schools or madrassas, the mechanisms to prevent underage recruitment in the Afghan National security forces, including age-verifications procedures, and how these mechanisms can fail.

The report can be accessed by clicking here

02 September 2016

Sudan : Situation of Persons from Darfur, Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile in Khartoum

This report is the product of joint missions conducted by the Country Policy and Information Team, UK Home Office, and the Country of Origin Information Division, Danish Immigration Service (DIS) to Kampala, Uganda, from 1-4 February 2016; Khartoum, Sudan (by members of the DIS only); and Nairobi, Kenya, from 18 February to 2 March 2016. The FFM delegation also conducted an interview in London with a UK-based NGO on 25 January 2016. The purpose of the missions was to collect up-to-date information on issues recurring in cases regarding Sudanese asylum seekers in Denmark and the UK.
The report focuses on the situation of persons from Darfur and the Two Areas (Southern Kordofan and the Blue Nile State)2 in Khartoum, including treatment of such persons upon arrival at Khartoum International Airport, treatment by the authorities in Khartoum, prevalence of societal discrimination, living conditions in Khartoum as well as access to Khartoum by road and air from Darfur and the Two Areas. It is available for download here.

30 August 2016

Finnish Immigration Service reporting from fact-finding mission to Syria

​The Finnish Immigration Service conducted a fact-finding mission to Beirut from 25–29 ​April 2016. One interview (Carnegie) was conducted via Skype on May 13, 2016 as a meeting was not possible to arrange due to time constrains. One interview (Suomi Syyria Yhteisö) was conducted in August 2016 in Helsinki, Finland. All interviews were conducted in English except the interview with Suomi Syyria Yhteisö was in Finnish seeks to give updated information on military service in the Syrian Arab Army. Issues such as current recruitment methods, possibilities to avoid military service and consequences of draft evasion or desertion are discussed in the report. The report brings up these issues also in relation to the National Defence Forces (NDF) that support the Syrian regime. Non-Syrian armed groups, i.e. Hezbollah, Iraqi and Iranian sponsored groups, fighting alongside the Syrian army and the relations between these actors are also discussed. Furthermore, the report evaluates the armed opposition in Syria, for example its recruitment in Syria and Lebanon and possibilities to leave a group. ​​
The report is available for download here.

16 August 2016

New UK Home Office reports on Somalia and Iraq

The UK Home Office has recently published new country information and guidance (CIG) reports on the security and humanitarian situation in south and central Somalia, and on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), religious minorities and Sunni (Arab Muslims) in Iraq. The reports are available for download here:

28 July 2016

EASO publishes COI Security Report on Pakistan

Today, the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) published a Country of Origin Information (COI) Report entitled ‘Pakistan security situation’. The report is an update of the security chapter of the EASO COI report on Pakistan, Country Overview, published in August 2015 and provides information relevant for the protection status determination of Pakistani asylum seekers.
In 2015, Pakistan ranked 5th in the top countries of origin in the EU+ countries, with a total number of almost 48,000 applicants. Throughout 2016, the country maintained this ranking in the top countries of origin.
The EASO COI Report ‘Pakistan security situation’ provides a general description of the security situation in Pakistan, covering the following topics: a brief background on the conflict in the country; actors in the conflict; an overview of recent security trends; the impact of the violence on the state ability to secure law and order; the impact of the violence on the civilian population; and a geographical overview of the security situation.
The second part of the report provides a more detailed description of the security situation in different regions in Pakistan. In each regional chapter, a short description of the region is given, followed by a description of the security trends, the actors in the region and the impact of the violence on the population.
The main findings of the report include the continuation of the military operation called Zarb-e-Azb against militant groups in North Waziristan in 2016. The Pakistani army conducted airstrikes and ground operations. At the same time, militant or terrorist attacks continued to occur in Pakistan’s urban centres. It should be noted, however, that the numbers and civilian casualties decreased in 2015 compared to 2014. Also during the first quarter of 2016, the numbers of fatalities continued to decline. Nevertheless, targeted killings and drone strikes still took place. While the violence continued to displace people in some regions, in other regions displaced populations returned back home.
The report was drafted by a specialized researcher from the Belgian Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons (Cedoca, Centre for Documentation and Research) in accordance with the EASO COI Report Methodology. It was also reviewed by experts from Austria, Hungary, EASO and UNHCR, 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 accessed by clicking here