The purpose of this report is to provide relevant contextual information in view of the assessment of applications for international protection, including refugee status and subsidiary protection.
The report provides an overview of the situation in Sudan, in the period 15 April 2023 – 31 January 2024, focusing on security issues and selected profiles relevant for international protection, that have been impacted by the conflict. Starting from the outbreak of the hostilities in April 2023, the report focuses first on the disruptive impact on the communication and media situation in the country throughout the reporting period. After highlighting this impact on all aspects addressed in the remainder of the report, notably regarding non-reporting and underreporting issues, the report proceeds to address the humanitarian and the security situation in the country. The report focuses on selected regions/states, namely Darfur, the Kordofans (meaning the Kordofan states, also referred to as Greater Kordofan), Khartoum and Al Jazirah.
The second part of the report addresses a selection – non exhaustive – of the main profiles affected by the conflict. More specifically, the report addresses the situation of: journalists and media personnel, humanitarian and health personnel, political opponents, non-Arabs/Africans in Darfur, women and girls, as well as child soldiers. The targeting of these profiles has been widely reported, although intermittently and fragmentarily, by local and international sources alike. The report is complemented by the input of various international experts on the most unreported and underreported aspects of the issues addressed.
The drafting of this report was finalised on 22 March 2024.
This report was written by the COI Sector of the EUAA. The following departments and organisations have reviewed the report, together with EUAA:
- Belgium, Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons, CEDOCA – Documentation and Research Centre;
- Denmark, Danish Immigration Service – DIS, Country of Origin Information;
- Eric Reeves, Ph.D., specialised on the politics and human rights situation in Sudan. Since 1999 he has conducted original research and reported on topics relevant for international protection across the whole country, most notably on Darfur.
This report was written according to the EUAA COI Report Methodology (2023) and the EUAA COI Writing and Referencing Style Guide (2023).
Policy
The policy implemented by the Commissioner General is based on a thorough analysis of accurate and up-to-date information on the general situation in the country of origin. This information is collated in a professional manner from various, objective sources, including the EUAA, the UNHCR, relevant international human rights organisations, non-governmental organisations, professional literature and coverage in the media. When determining policy, the Commissioner General does not only examine the COI Focuses written by Cedoca and published on this website, as these deal with just one aspect of the general situation in the country of origin. The fact that a COI Focus could be out-of-date does not mean that the policy that is being implemented by the Commissioner General is no longer up-to-date.
When assessing an application for asylum, the Commissioner General not only considers the actual situation in the country of origin at the moment of decision-making, he also takes into account the individual situation and personal circumstances of the applicant for international protection. Every asylum application is examined individually. An applicant must comprehensively demonstrate that he has a well-founded fear of persecution or that there is a clear personal risk of serious harm. He cannot, therefore, simply refer back to the general conditions in his country, but must also present concrete, credible and personal facts.
There is no policy paper for this country available on the website.