EASO COI Report. Key socio-economic indicators, state protection, and mobility in Kabul City, in Mazar-e Sharif, and Herat City

English

The report provides a general description of the socio-economic situation in three cities in Afghanistan – Kabul, Mazar-e Sharif and Herat – covering the following topics: economic growth; employment; poverty; food security; access to education; health care; housing; and coping strategies. The report also looks into actors of protection, focussing both on different branches of the Afghan National Security Forces and the formal justice system. Finally, travel into these three cities is researched by looking into restrictions or requirements on travel in Afghanistan and ways of travelling by domestic air traffic.

Special attention is paid to the fate of women and displaced people – IDPs and returnees – throughout the report and a seperate chapter is dedicated to children.

The report was co-drafted by a COI researcher from the national asylum authority of Poland and COI researchers from EASO in accordance with the EASO COI Report Methodology. The report was reviewed by COI researchers from Belgium, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, EASO, and UNHCR. In addition, a review of the report was carried out by Afghanistan expert Antonio Giustozzi, Samuel Hall Consulting, and the Asylum Research Consultancy.

The terms of reference of this report were defined by EASO based information needs identified by asylum policy experts in EU+ countries and UNHCR.

Policy

The general security situation in Afghanistan is largely determined by a long-term, ongoing, internal armed conflict which has resulted in many Afghans being uprooted or seeking refuge in another country. In order to assess the need for international protection, the Commissioner General takes into account the fact that there are fundamental differences between the regions of Afghanistan when it comes to the security situation, the nature and intensity of the violence.

Land: 
Afghanistan