EASO publishes COI report on Somalia: Background an overview on South and Central Somalia
The European Asylum Support Office (EASO) published a COI report on South and Central Somalia. The report was co-authored by, i.a., the COI department of the Austrian Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum.
Co-authors of the report are:
- Austria, Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum, Country of Origin Information Department
- The Netherlands, Immigration and Naturalisation Service, Office for Country Information and Language Analysis
- Slovakia, Migration Office, Department of Documentation and Foreign Cooperation
- Switzerland, Federal Office for Migration, Division Analysis and Services
The COI units of Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom reviewed the report.
From the press release:
“Topics covered in the report include: general country information; the clan system and ethnic groups; the security situation; Al Shabaab; Human Rights; migration; mobility; and displacement. The Somalia report aims to provide information to support: COI researchers; first and second instance decision makers; and policymakers active in the national procedures for the assessment of asylum applications from Somali nationals.
Regarding the security situation, attention is given to the Al-Shabaab insurgent group. The Human Rights situation is described for areas under the control of respectively Al-Shabaab on the one hand and the Government with the African Union military mission in Somalia (AMISOM) forces on the other hand. In this regard, one finding of the report is, for example, the practice of abducting young girls for forced marriages with Al-Shabaab fighters.The report highlights how in 2013, thousands of internally displaced people (IDPs) in Mogadishu were evicted by force out of their settlements. This was done not only by private landowners or gatekeepers, but also by the Mogadishu administration, in attempts to clean up the capital, without finding any safe alternative for the IDPs. Furthermore, the report also stresses the importance of clan protection against violence by aggressors from outside the clan. On the other hand, it also nuances the role of the clan in the current situation in South and Central Somalia. Special attention is also given to the position of different minority groups and their safety.” (EASO press release, 3 October 2014)
The report is available at:
EASO: South and Central Somalia: Country Overview, August 2014
https://www.ecoi.net/file_upload/90_1412334993_easo-2014-08-coi-report-somalia.pdf
