Country of origin information

RefWorld

www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain

RefWorld is the leading source of information necessary for taking quality decisions on refugee status. Refworld contains a vast collection of reports relating to situations in countries of origin, policy documents and positions, and documentsrelating to international and national legal frameworks. The information has been carefully selected and compiled from UNHCR's global network of field offices, Governments, international, regional and non-governmental organizations, academic institutions and judicial bodies.

The European Country of Origin Information Network

www.ecoi.net

ecoi.net collects information on the situation in countries of origin of asylum seekers with a focus on the needs of asylum lawyers, refugee counsels and persons deciding on claims for asylum and other forms of international protection. Since February 2008, the search engine on ecoi.net automatically includes English and German synonyms and near synonyms of search terms.

Le site www.ecoi.net du Réseau européen d’information sur les pays d’origine, a une nouvelle interface de recherche.
El sitio www.ecoi.net de la Red europea de informaciones sobre los países de originen, a un novel interface de búsqueda.

Austrian Centre for Country of Origin and Asylum Research and Documentation – Austrian Red Cross

www.roteskreuz.at/i18n/en/organise/accord/

ACCORD provides independently, neutrally and objectively researched information on countries of origin of asylum seekers. The use of a comprehensive selection of sources ensures balanced and corroborated information. ACCORD continuously document human rights developments focusing on the criteria of the 1951 Geneva Refugee Convention and other legal instruments providing international protection. Their database is thus a focal point for asylum relevant and up-to-date material. ACCORD offers responses to case related queries, www.ecoi.net and COI-training.

International Crisis Group

www.crisisgroup.org/en.aspx

The International Crisis Group is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organisation committed to preventing and resolving deadly conflict. They provide regular and reliable updates and reports on countries in conflict situations. It is also available in French and in Arabic and some reports are available in other languages.

The Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada

www.irb.gc.ca

The IRB has a wealth of material on their website on all manner of things dealing with their work, including Research and Country of Origin Information. At present, they are redesigning their online research applications but eventually these will be freely available to all. They have a number of offices across Canada and can be contacted This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

ADDITIONAL SOURCES BY COUNTRY

Listed below by country are persons or organizations that have expressed willingness to assist legal aid providers by providing COI information. You may write directly to them. The Fahamu Refugee Programme attempts to only list credible sources, but can not take responsibility for the reliability of the information provided.

If you find the country concerning which you need information to be blank, or should you be willing to be listed on the site as a COI specialist, please contact info[at]fahamu.org, Subject Line: 'COI Information needed' or 'COI information offered'.