EASO COI Report. Targeted profiles

English

This report provides in-depth information about following potentially targeted profiles: people recruited by and deserters from Al-Shabaab; women and girls; individual perceived as contravening religious laws/tenets; minorities and non-minority clans; individuals involved in blood feuds/clan disputes; individuals supporting or perceived as supporting the government, the international community, and/or as opposing Al-Shabaab; journalists; LGBTIQ.

This report should be read in conjunction with other 2021 EASO COI reports on Somalia, such as EASO COI report on Somalia: Actors (July 2021), the EASO COI report on Somalia: Key socio-economic indicators (September 2021), and the Somalia: Security situation (September 2021). This series of COI reports provide relevant information on international protection status determination for Somali asylum seekers and will be used in the development of EASO country guidance note on Somalia.

EASO would like to acknowledge ACCORD as the drafter of this report. The following departments and external experts have reviewed the report, together with EASO:

- Norway, Landinfo, Norwegian Country of Origin Information Centre

- Joakim Gundel, scholar, author, and Somalia expert

The drafting of this report was finalised on 20 August 2021, while the reference period of the report covers January 2020 – 30 June 2021. Any event taking place after 30 June is not included in this report.

This report is produced in line with the EASO COI Report Methodology (2019) and the EASO COI Writing and Referencing Style Guide (2019).

Policy

After the fall of president Siad Barre in 1991, Somalia sank into chaos. Various authorities have taken power since then. Somaliland and Puntland became de facto states independent of Somalia in the 1990's. The general security situation in Somalia is largely determined by a long-term, ongoing, internal armed conflict which has resulted in many Somalis being uprooted or seeking refuge in other countries. In order to assess the need for international protection, the Commissioner General takes into account the fact that there are fundamental differences between the situations in Mogadishu, Central and Southern Somalia on the one hand, and the situation in Somaliland and Puntland on the other.

Land: 
Somalia

Information about the asylum procedure, tailored to the asylum seeker, can be found at : asyluminbelgium.be.