This report is an update of the European Asylum Support Office’s (EASO) COI report “Afghanistan Security Situation” first published in January 2015 and updated in January 2016.
The report was drafted by Country of Origin Information (COI) specialists from the COI units and asylum departments of the following countries: Austria, Belgium, France, Hungary and Poland. Prior to publication, it was submitted for review and comment to several authorities, including EASO and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). It was written according to the EASO COI Report Methodology.
The report presents information about the security situation in Afghanistan until 31 August 2016.
A limited number of specialised paper-based and electronic sources were consulted and a number of contact persons were interviewed. For security reasons, some contacts are not named but are referred to as “anonymous sources”.
The report aims to provide information which is relevant for international protection status determination (refugee status and subsidiary protection). In the first part, a general description is given of the security situation in Afghanistan and regional differences are highlighted. These are then explained in greater detail in the second part, with descriptions of the country’s provinces, in three parts:
- a general description of the province
- recent trends in the security situation (from 1 September 2015 until 31 August 2016)
- population displacements.
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.