Country of Origin Information Unit of the Federal Asylum Office Austria
Source description last updated: 19 December 2011.
Mission/Mandate:
“The Federal Asylum Office received a mandate to maintain and update information on various countries of origin with the entry into force of the Austrian Asylum Act of 2005 on January 1st 2006.
According to this law all relevant facts concerning the situation in the countries of origin of asylum seekers are being recorded - with special emphasis on their significance for current asylum procedures - in order to improve the quality of asylum procedures in Austria.” (Staatendokumentation website,
http://www.staatendokumentation.at/folder-staatendokumentation-english.pdf, accessed 10 November 2011)
Target group and Objective of “Country Advice”:
“According to its statutory mandate, the Country of Origin Information Unit in the Federal Asylum Office is charged with the recording of all facts about the situation in countries of origin that are relevant for asylum procedures including the sources. This task comprises the collection of relevant facts:
1. for determining whether it can be concluded that the asylum-seeker is in danger of persecution in a certain state,
2. for assessing the credibility of claims made by asylum-seekers and 3. for determining whether a certain country can be categorised as a safe country of origin or a safe third country according to the Austrian Asylum Act.
Furthermore, the recording of facts requires an in depth scientific analysis of the information collected. This includes drawing up general country assessments and topic-related assessments that can serve as a basis for decisions; drafting scientific essays on relevant subjects complying with scientific standards; research and response to case-related queries of decision makers of authorities in the field of asylum and other activities.
[…]
Collected facts as well as detailed reports are documented and stored in an internal database. On this platform of the Federal Asylum Office all available documents are filed, grouped by countries of origin and sources. In addition a public database was set up on 1 January 2006, which can be accessed online via
www.staatendokumentation.at. The database of the Federal Asylum Office is maintained and updated daily in close cooperation with the Red Cross/ACCORD.
[…]
If you are not already authorised to use the country documentation free of charge in accordance with Section 60, para. 6 of the Austrian Asylum Act of 2005 and you are interested in obtaining access to the data base, please contact the COI-Unit of the Federal Asylum Office by telephone or by e-mail, or refer to the Website
www.staatendokumentation.at.
Funding:
Scope of reporting:
- Responses to requests
- Reports
- Analyses
Geographic focus: Most countries of origin of asylum seekers in Austria.
Reporting methodology:
“To assure comprehensive improvement on the country documentation, an advisory council has been established. It supports the Federal Asylum Office in updating and maintaining its country documentation records and other related activities. […] The advisory council has conceived standards for query responses, country-assessments and scientific essays on country-specific subjects. All documents produced by the COI-Unit are based on these standards. They exactly define formal as well as contentual criteria, to guarantee the high standard of quality of the diversified range of products of the COI-Unit.”
Publication cycle:
Responses, reports and analyses are published ad hoc.
Language:
German, some reports in English.
Navigation of website:
For access to most of the publications, a registration with the Federal Asylum Office’s COI unit is required (see above). After login, search for the source “BAA Staatendokumentation” in the Advanced Search.
