Adapted from the UN World Macro Regions.
RefWorld
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 documents relating 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.
UK Border Agency’s Country of Origin Information Service
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/policyandlaw/guidance/coi/
The Country of Origin Information Service (COI Service) provides up-to-date, sourced, independently reviewed information on asylum seekers' countries of origin. Sources include UN reports, human rights reports, various media bodies and information from specialist country officers, amongst others. COI material produced by UKBA is reviewed by the independent Advisory Group on Country Information (IAGCI). If you have any comments or suggestions on any COI Service products, you can send them to:UKBApublicenquiries[at]ukba.gsi.gov.uk.
Do consult Asylum Research Consultancy (www.asylumresearchconsultancy.com) for critiques of UK Border Agency's COI report and beware, UK Border Agency's report often are out-of-date as are many such sources.
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.
The US Department of State Human Rights Report
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2010/index.htm
The US Department of State publishes an annual report in to human rights conditions in over 190 countries around the world. The latest report, for 2010, is now available to
view.
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.
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 info [at] irb-cisr [dot] gc [dot] ca (via Email).
Electronic Immigration Network
www.ein.org.uk
The Electronic Immigration Network [EIN] provides information on UK immigration and refugee law. The site comprises of two main areas: the Public Site (free) and the Members’ Site (at a charge). The Public Site gives access to country of origin experts, news and information on the latest legislation and most recent case law, event listings and a general resources list which links to related sites.
The directory of Country of Origin Experts is available here: http://www.ein.org.uk/experts/country.shtml. It is accessible to all. However, we have no way of knowing if these listed experts are willing to do this work without charge. You should contact them directly and explain your situation where you are unable to pay.
The Members’ Site (fee-paying) contains case law, legislation, updates on policy
and practice, information on events, job information and bulletin boards that enable users to consult with and contact fellow practitioners. A forum allows access to immigration and asylum-related decisions from the AIT up to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
Asylum Research Consultancy (ARC)
www.asylumresearchconsultancy.com
Email: info [at] asylumresearchconsultancy [dot] com (info[at]asylumresearchconsultancy.com)
Contact Persons: Liz Williams, Stephanie Huber
Asylum Research Consultancy (ARC) provides a case-specific country of origin information (COI) research service to support individual asylum claims for use in representations to the UK Border Agency (UKBA), the UK Immigration and Asylum Chambers and to international refugee decision making bodies. This service is primarily fee-paying, but ARC may be able to undertake pro bono COI research for NGOs with limited funds who provide free services to refugees.
ARC also undertakes research, advocacy and training to improve the quality of refugee status determination. ARC has been commissioned by the UK-based Still Human Still Here Coalition to twice review the COI content of 11 Operational Guidance Notes (OGNs) during 2011 and 2012 and delivered 10 training sessions to legal representatives on ‘How to Challenge the Conclusions Reached in UKBA's OGNs Using Country of Origin Information’. ARC was also appointed to review the COI content of the UKBA COI Report on The Gambia on behalf of the Independent Advisory Group on Country Information (IAGCI). ARC also produces a free bi-monthly COI Update, which provides notification of new UK Country Guidance cases, new UKBA COI publications and developments.
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.
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.
