The report aims to provide an update on the security situation in Afghanistan, which is relevant for international protection status determination (refugee status and subsidiary protection).
This report is an update of the EASO COI report Afghanistan Security Situation first published in January 2015, and updated in January 2016, November 2016 and in December 2017.
It should be noted that the current update does not fully replace the December 2017 Afghanistan Security Situation report, but instead focuses on those elements that are found to be time-sensitive, while still referring to the December 2017 report for more long-term, contextual information.
This report provides information on elements and indicators that may help in assessing the need for protection. It is not meant to be read as a whole. In the first part, a short general description, an update is given on the number of civilian casualties and displacement in Afghanistan. Additionally, an updated version of the UNOCHA ‘Conflict Severity’ map is provided to highlight regional differences. These are then explained in greater detail in the second part, holding a regional description of geographic subdivisions (the 34 provinces).
Both the general and regional parts provide information from various sources on the relevant elements and indicators.
This report is largely based on information provided by the Country of Origin Information (COI) department from the Austrian Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum. It was completed with information added by the EASO COI sector.
The following national asylum and migration departments have contributed by reviewing the report:
Belgium, Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons, Cedoca - Center for Documentation and Research,
Denmark, The Danish Immigration Service, Section Country of Origin Information,
France, Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless persons (OFPRA), Information, Documentation and Research Division,
Italy, Ministry of the Interior, National Commission for the Right of Asylum International and EU Affairs, COI unit,
Slovakia, Migration Office, Department of Documentation and Foreign Cooperation,
Sweden, Swedish Migration Agency, Lifos – Centre for Country of Origin Information and Analysis.
The drafting of this report was finalised in April 2018. Any event taking place after this date is not included in this report.
This report was written according to the EASO COI Report Methodology.
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.