Thematic Focus: Asylum Issues

As part of the "Towards Improved Asylum Decision-Making in the EU (CREDO)" project, UNHCR has released Beyond Proof: Credibility Assessment in EU Asylum Systems; the report aims in part to:

"...contribute to the further harmonization of Member State practices as they relate to the assessment of credibility. This report seeks to clarify some key concepts, reference key standards, outline factors that have a bearing on the credibility assessment, and provide some insights into state practices on specific aspects of the credibility assessment. ...There is a pressing need for comprehensive and up-to-date guidance on credibility assessment to address the challenges faced by adjudicators in asylum systems. UNHCR has therefore embarked on the review of its own guidance with a view to producing updated guidelines on credibility assessment that reflect recent developments in international refugee law and other relevant areas of law. This report thus does not constitute that updated guidance, although its findings will be taken into account in the guidance’s preparation process."

A summary version is also available. The credibility assessment checklists included in the report's annexes are also available as a separate document.

Other relevant resources:

Asylum Information Database (ECRE, Forum Réfugiés-Cosi, Irish Refugee Council & Hungarian Helsinki Committee) [access]
- Forthcoming resource that aims to share information on asylum practice in 14 EU Member States.

Asylum Decisions (Immigration Equality, 2013) [access]
- Follow link for table highlighting U.S. precedential and non-precedential cases in the area of LGBT and HIV asylum law.

Asylum Narratives and Credibility Assessments: An Ethnographic Study of the Asylum Appeal Process in Scotland, Dissertation (University of Glasgow, 2012) [text]

"Harming Asylum Seekers’ Chances through Poor Use of Human Rights Treaties," Forced Migration Review, no. 43 (May 2013) [open access text]

Protection Interrupted: The Dublin Regulation's Impact on Asylum Seekers' Protection (JRS Europe, June 2013) [access]
- Follow the link for the full report, an executive summary, a briefing paper, and individual country reports.

"Refugee Status Determination in Hong Kong: A New Era for Legal Aid Providers?," Fahamu Refugee Legal Aid Newsletter, no. 38 (June 2013) [full-text]

Treating Like Cases Alike in Refugee Law Adjudication: The Troubling Lack of Consistency in Refugee Status Adjudication within and across State Parties to International Refugee Rights Instruments, London, 25 April 2013 [info]
- Materials from this recent seminar are now available; see also related blog post.

Tagged Publications.