As a result of the ERF-funded project “COI in Judicial Practice”, in which the Austrian Red Cross/ACCORD participated, the Hungarian Helsinki Committee has published a study on structural differences between European courts dealing with asylum and their access to Country of Origin Information (COI).

Issue 38 of the Forced Migration Review covers the positive and negative aspects of the spread of modern technologies for researchers and agencies as well as for displaced people themselves. The issue also contains an article on access to good quality Country of Origin Information.

Today’s Face to Face Meeting in Cairo concludes a Blended Learning Course on Country of Origin Information commissioned by UNHCR.

A new featured topic on the political and administrative status of the Abyei Area, disputed between Sudan & South Sudan, is available, and the featured topic on Nigeria has been updated. Additionally, a new 155 pages COI report on Myanmar has been published by ACCORD.

UNHCR published a summary report on its EU-funded project on quality of asylum procedures in nine EU member states. Additionally, a manual introducing to various elements necessary for a high quality asylum system provides annotated checklists as an aide to decision-makers.

A new featured topic on post-election violence in Nigeria is available, and the featured topics on Afghanistan and Syria have been updated

The US Department of State released its annual report on international religious freedom. This year, the USDOS changes the reporting period of the reports, shifting to a calendar year. The current issue of the report covers July-December 2010.

Fleeing Homophobia, a project by COC Nederland and the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, has published a report on differences in the examination of LGBTI asylum applications in member states of the European Union. The report also contains a chapter on Country of Origin Information (COI) in the LGBTI context.

A country page for the world’s most recent inedependent nation, the Republic of South Sudan, is now available on ecoi.net.

As part of our changes to celebrate ecoi.net’s 10th anniversary, we are establishing a blog on which we will inform about new developments regarding ecoi.net’s work, important new publications* and about news in the field of COI research.