COI Update Vol. 217 11 May 2020

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This document provides an update of UK Country Guidance case law, UK Home Office publications

and developments in refugee producing countries (focusing on those which generate the most

asylum seekers in the UK) between 28 April and 11 May 2020.

Ctrl + click the hyperlinked text to access the documents

Legal Update

Afghanistan

AS (Safety of Kabul) Afghanistan CG [2020] UKUT 130 (IAC)

Risk on return to Kabul from the Taliban

(i) A person who is of lower-level interest for the Taliban (i.e. not a senior government or

security services official, or a spy) is not at real risk of persecution from the Taliban in Kabul.

Risk of serious harm in Kabul

(ii) There is widespread and persistent conflict-related violence in Kabul. However, the

proportion of the population affected by indiscriminate violence is small and not at a level

where a returnee, even one with no family or other network and who has no experience

living in Kabul, would face a serious and individual threat to their life or person by reason of

indiscriminate violence.

Reasonableness of internal relocation to Kabul

(iii) Having regard to the security and humanitarian situation in Kabul as well as the difficulties

faced by the population living there (primarily the urban poor but also IDPs and other

returnees, which are not dissimilar to the conditions faced throughout many other parts of

Afghanistan) it will not, in general, be unreasonable or unduly harsh for a single adult male in

good health to relocate to Kabul even if he does not have any specific connections or support

network in Kabul and even if he does not have a Tazkera.

(iv) However, the particular circumstances of an individual applicant must be taken into account

in the context of conditions in the place of relocation, including a person’s age, nature and

quality of support network/connections with Kabul/Afghanistan, their physical and mental

health, and their language, education and vocational skills when determining whether a

person falls within the general position set out above. Given the limited options for

employment, capability to undertake manual work may be relevant.

(v) A person with a support network or specific connections in Kabul is likely to be in a more

advantageous position on return, which may counter a particular vulnerability of an

individual on return. A person without a network may be able to develop one following

return. A person’s familiarity with the cultural and societal norms of Afghanistan (which may

be affected by the age at which he left the country and his length of absence) will be relevant

to whether, and if so how quickly and successfully, he will be able to build a network.

Previous Country Guidance

(vi) The country guidance in AK (Article 15(c)) Afghanistan CG [2012] UKUT 163 (IAC) in relation

to Article 15(c) of the Qualification Directive remains unaffected by this decision.

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(vii) The country guidance in AK (Article 15(c)) Afghanistan CG [2012] UKUT 163 (IAC) in relation

to the (un)reasonableness of internal relocation to Kabul (and other potential places of

internal relocation) for certain categories of women remains unaffected by this decision.

(viii) The country guidance in AA (unattended children) Afghanistan CG [2012] UKUT 16 (IAC) also

remains unaffected by this decision.

UK Home Office Publications Update

Albania

UK Home Office, Country Policy and Information Note, Albania: Mental healthcare, 7 May 2020

Country News and Publications

Global

Amnesty International research, Africa: Guidelines For African States To Protect The Rights Of

Women And Girls During The Covid-19 Pandemic, 7 May 2020

UNICEF press release, 19 million children internally displaced by conflict and violence in 2019, highest

number ever, 4 May 2020

Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, 2020 Global Report on Internal Displacement, 28 April

2020

Afghanistan

Radio Free Europe, Taliban Attack On Afghan Army Checkpoint Kills Six As Violence Threatens Peace

Deal, 11 May 2020

Reporters Without Borders, Afghan cleric who defied Covid-19 lockdown threatens woman

journalist, 11 May 2020

International Crisis Group commentary, COVID-19 in Afghanistan: Compounding Crises, 6 May 2020

Radio Free Europe, Afghanistan Suicide Bombing Kills At Least Three, Wounds 15, 29 April 2020

Algeria

Amnesty International news, Algeria: Release journalist Khaled Drareni and end targeted harassment

of independent media, 30 April 2020

Human Rights Watch dispatches, During Pandemic, Algeria Tightens Vise on Protest Movement, 29

April 2020

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Bangladesh

Human Rights Watch commentary, Bangladesh Should Support Hijra, Trans Under Covid-19, 8 May

2020

Human Rights Watch news, Bangladesh: Mass Arrests Over Cartoons, Posts, 7 May 2020

Amnesty International campaigns, Bangladesh: Further Information: Editor Faces Detention After

Disappearance: Shafiqul Islam Kajol, 6 May 2020

Human Rights Watch news, Bangladesh: Rohingya Refugees in Risky Covid-19 Quarantine, 5 May

2020

Reporters Without Borders, Bangladeshi journalist found alive after being missing for 53 days, 4 May

2020

Human Rights Watch news, Bangladesh: Covid-19 Aid Limits Imperil Rohingya, 28 April 2020

Cameroon

Amnesty International news, Cameroon: Authorities must urgently protect detainees against COVID-

19, 5 May 2020

Human Rights Watch dispatches, No Room for Debate in Cameroon Classrooms, 1 May 2020

OHCHR press release, Cameroon must protect human rights defenders – UN experts, 28 April 2020

China

Reporters Without Borders, China: detained for fighting censorship, 11 May 2020

Amnesty International campaigns, China: Covid-19 Activist Held Incommunicado: Chen Mei, 7 May

2020

Radio Free Asia, Detained Rights Lawyer Resurfaces After Crackdown on Xiamen Dissident Gathering,

7 May 2020

Radio Free Asia, China Steps Up Security in Beijing, Detains Activist Ahead of Congress, 6 May 2020

Human Rights Watch news, China: Covid-19 Discrimination Against Africans, 5 May 2020

Radio Free Asia, Police Arrest Professor Who Linked Virus to The Chinese Communist Party, 4 May

2020

Radio Free Asia, Labor Activist 'At Risk of Torture' in Incommunicado Detention: Group, 1 May 2020

Radio Free Asia, China Jails Journalist For 15 Years Ahead of World Press Freedom Day, 1 May 2020

Amnesty International campaigns, China: Further Information: Prisoner Of Conscience Denied Access

To Family: Huang Qi, 30 April 2020

Human Rights Watch, China: Gender Discrimination in Hiring Persists, 29 April 2020

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China-Tibet

Radio Free Asia, Tibetan Political Prisoner Dies at Home After Being Refused Medical Help, 7 May

2020

Radio Free Asia, Tibetan Man Dies After Years of Ill Health Following Torture in Prison, 4 May 2020

China-Xinjiang

Amnesty International campaigns, China: Further Information: Uyghur Academic Reappears On

State-Broadcast: Iminjan Seydin, 11 May 2020

Radio Free Asia, ‘Losing Him Has Been an Attack on Our People’: Remembering Uyghur Religious

Teacher Abdulahad Mahsum, 11 May 2020

Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

UNHCR briefing note, Surging violence uproots thousands of people in eastern Congo, 8 May 2020

Amnesty International news, DRC: Alarming research shows long lasting harm from cobalt mine

abuses, 6 May 2020

The New Humanitarian, Rebel splits and failed peace talks drive new violence in Congo’s Ituri, 5 May

2020

Human Rights Watch dispatches, 100 Days in Prison and Counting for Congolese Activist, 29 April

2020

Egypt

Amnesty International campaigns, Egypt: Further Information: Human Rights Defender Detained And

Tortured: Patrick Zaki George, 11 May 2020

Amnesty International news, Egypt: Court arbitrarily extends the pre-trial detention of over 1,600

defendants, 7 May 2020

Amnesty International campaigns, Egypt: Further Information: Detained Lawyer At Risk Amid Covid-

19 Outbreak: Mahienour El-Masry, 5 May 2020

Amnesty International campaigns, Egypt: Further Information: Loss Of Contact With Detained

Journalist, 4 May 2020

Amnesty International news, Egypt: End relentless attacks on journalists and other media workers, 3

May 2020

Human Rights Watch, Egypt: 2 Women Arbitrarily Detained, ‘Disappeared’, 29 April 2020

Ethiopia

Human Rights Watch news, Ethiopia: Free Speech at Risk Amid Covid-19, 6 May 2020

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Amnesty International news, Ethiopia: Forced evictions in Addis Ababa render jobless workers

homeless amid COVID-19, 29 April 2020

Ghana

Human Rights Watch news, Ghana: 1st Covid-19 Case in Psychiatric Hospital, 30 April 2020

India

Amnesty International campaigns, India: Protestors Arrested For Opposing Bigoted Law, 5 May 2020

The New Humanitarian, India debates how to end a lockdown without sparking another emergency,

28 April 2020

Iran

Human Rights Watch news, Iran: Prosecutions for Protests About Plane-Downing, 8 May 2020

Amnesty International campaigns, Iran: Ill-Treated Prisoner Risks Total Paralysis: Hossein Sepanta, 6

May 2020

Amnesty International campaigns, Iran: Tortured Prisoners In Need Of Medical Care, 30 April 2020

Reporters Without Borders, Iran: Two journalists arrested over cartoon mocking traditional remedies

for coronavirus, 28 April 2020

Iraq

Amnesty International news, Iraq: New government must put human rights at heart of agenda, 8

May 2020

Reporters Without Borders, Murder investigations must be reopened after Kurdish parties accuse

each other, 5 May 2020

Kenya

Amnesty International campaigns, Kenya: Evicted Residents Vulnerable To Covid-19, 7 may 2020

Human Rights Watch dispatches, Protect Kenya’s Journalists Reporting on Covid-19, 4 May 2020

The New Humanitarian, In the news: Flooding sweeps Kenya, displacing thousands, 4 May 2020

Lebanon

Human Rights Watch, Lebanon’s LGBT People Reclaim Their Power, 7 May 2020

Human Rights Watch, Lebanon: One Protester Dead in Tripoli, 29 April 2020

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Libya

Human Rights Watch news, Libya: UAE Strike Kills 8 Civilians, 29 April 2020

The New Humanitarian, Locked down in Libya: One refugee’s reflections on conflict and COVID-19, 29

April 2020

Human Rights Watch, EU: Time to review and remedy cooperation policies facilitating abuse of

refugees and migrants in Libya, 28 April 2020

Malaysia

Reporters Without Borders, Malaysian police investigate reporter who covered Covid-19 arrests, 6

May 2020

Myanmar/Burma

Radio Free Asia, Video Shows Myanmar Forces Beating Five Civilians on Navy Vessel in Rakhine State,

11 May 2020

Amnesty International campaigns, Myanmar: Further Information: Rakhine Journalist Remains In

Hiding: Aung Marm Oo, 7 May 2020

Radio Free Asia, Myanmar Military Column, Artillery Firings Displace Rakhine Villagers, 7 May 2020

Amnesty International campaigns, Myanmar: Further Information: Supporters Of Former Child

Soldier Released Early, 6 May 2020

Human Rights Watch dispatches, No May Day Marches in Myanmar, 30 April 2020

Radio Free Asia, Rakhine Man Reported Tortured to Death by Myanmar Army, 30 April 2020

OHCHR press release, Myanmar: “Possible war crimes and crimes against humanity ongoing in

Rakhine and Chin States” – UN Special Rapporteur Yanghee Lee, 29 April 2020

Nepal

OHCHR press release, Press briefing note on Nepal, 1 May 2020

Nigeria

Amnesty International campaigns, Nigeria: Activist Arrested And Detained: Mubarak Bala, 8 May

2020

Amnesty International research, Nigeria: Authorities Must Protect Health Workers On The Frontline

Of Covid-19 Response, 1 May 2020

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Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs)

UNICEF statement, In light of COVID-19 crisis, UN officials call for immediate release of all children in

detention, including Palestinian children, 11 May 2020

Amnesty International news, Palestine: End arbitrary detention of critics in West Bank and Gaza, 7

May 2020

OHCHR press release, Israeli annexation plans would lead to “cascade of bad human rights

consequences”, says UN expert, 1 May 2020

Pakistan

Human Rights Watch dispatches, Closing Pakistan’s Maternity Wards Puts Women at Risk, 9 May

2020

Human Rights Watch news, Pakistan: Ahmadis Kept Off Minorities Commission, 8 May 2020

Amnesty International news, Pakistan: Authorities Must Be Transparent About COVID-19 Cases in

Prisons, 7 May 2020

Human Rights Watch news, Pakistan: Investigate ‘Disappearance’ of Activist, 4 May 2020

Amnesty International campaigns, Pakistan: Further Information: Fears For Disappeared Human

Rights Defender: Muhammad Idris Khattak, 30 April 2020

Somalia

International Crisis Group briefing, COVID-19 in Somalia: A Public Health Emergency in an Electoral

Minefield, 8 May 2020

UNHCR briefing note, Conflict and heavy floods force tens of thousands of people to flee their homes

in Somalia, amidst COVID-19 threat, 8 May 2020

Reporters Without Borders, Somali TV reporter stabbed to death in Mogadishu, 5 May 2020

Amnesty International news, Facebook: Friend or foe to Somalia’s press freedom, 3 May 2020

Human Rights Watch news, Somalia: Spate of Arrests, Intimidation of Journalists, 2 May 2020

Sri Lanka

Amnesty International research, Sri Lanka: Amid Pandemic, Sri Lanka Pardons Soldier Convicted Of

Massacre, 30 April 2020

Sudan

OHCHR press release, Untold suffering awaits Sudan unless it receives a helping hand – Bachelet, 28

April 2020

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Syria

Amnesty International research, Syria: ‘Nowhere Is Safe For Us’: Unlawful Attacks And Mass

Displacement In North-West Syria, 11 May 2020

OHCHR press release, Syria: Bachelet warns of ‘ticking time-bomb’ as civilian killings mount, 8 May

2020

Amnesty International campaigns, Syrian Torture Trial in Koblenz, Germany - Part 1, 6 May 2020

EASO COI Report, Syria – Security Situation (2020 Update), 5 May 2020

Human Rights Watch dispatches, WHO Should Stand By Appeal for Cross-Border Aid to Syria, 30 April

2020

UNICEF statement, Eleven children reported killed in an attack on a crowded market in Afrin,

northern Syria, 29 April 2020

Human Rights Watch news, Syria: Aid Restrictions Hinder Covid-19 Response, 28 April 2020

Turkey

Amnesty International news, Turkey: COVID-19 pandemic increases climate of fear for journalists, 1

May 2020

Human Rights Watch, Turkey: Enforced Disappearances, Torture, 29 April 2020

Uganda

Human Rights Watch news, Uganda: Drop Charges Against 19 Homeless Youth, 11 May 2020

Human Rights Watch news, Uganda: Opposition Leader Reported Tortured by Police, 28 April 2020

Ukraine

Reporters Without Borders, Ukrainian police attack reporter covering protest against Covid-19

lockdown, 7 May 2020

Vietnam

Radio Free Asia, Vietnam’s Top Court Rejects Request to Reinvestigate Death-row Inmate’s Case, 11

May 2020

Radio Free Asia, Vietnamese Man Arrested For Gambling Dies in Jailhouse Beating, 8 May 2020

Radio Free Asia, Vietnamese Facebook User Hit With Five-Year Prison Term Amid Tightening

Restrictions on Press Freedoms, 28 April 2020

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Yemen

The New Humanitarian, COVID-19 in Yemen, pandemic aid costings, and military executions: The

Cheat Sheet, 8 May 2020

Amnesty International news, Yemen: Journalists at risk of execution must be freed to mark World

Press Freedom Day, 1 May 2020

International Crisis Group commentary, Heading Off a Renewed Struggle for Yemen’s South, 29 April

2020

UNICEF Press Release, Over 5 million children face threat of cholera and acute water diarrhea in the

midst of COVID-19 as Yemen gets heavy rains, 29 April 2020

International Federation for Human Rights statement, Yemen: Urgent Measures Needed to Protect

Civilians from COVID-19, 28 April 2020

Zimbabwe

Amnesty International news, The devastating effects of COVID-19 on maternal health in Zimbabwe,

29 April 2020

Sources consulted: Amnesty International; Human Rights Watch; Institute for War and Peace

Reporting; Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC); International Crisis Group; International

Federation for Human Rights (FIDH); International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR); The New

Humanitarian; Radio Free Asia; Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty; Reporters Without Borders; UN

Agencies, Committees, Special Rapporteurs and news.

Sources consulted for annual reports: Amnesty International; Freedom House; Human Rights Watch;

U.S. Department of State

Additional useful COI databases for case-specific country research (non-exhaustive):

o Asylos’s research notes [Subscription only] o COI Forum [Subscription only] o EASO COI Portal [European Asylum Support Office’s portal] o Electronic Immigration Network [Subscription only] o ECOI.net [European Country of Origin Information Network] o Refworld [UNHCR’s portal] o ReliefWeb

For useful sources arranged by theme consult ARC Foundation’s free Thematic COI Sources toolkit.