The Austrian Red Cross together with the Austrian Centre for Country of Origin & Asylum Research and Documentation (ACCORD) have published a revised edition of the training manual “Researching Country of Origin Information (COI)”. According to Volker Türk, Director of International Protection UNHCR, the country of origin information (COI) is key to decision-making.

All decision-makers, whether state officials, UNHCR staff or judges, need reliable COI to understand the situation in the applicants’ country of origin and the circumstances which forced them to flee. Lawyers and legal aid organizations equally need such information to be able to assist applicants in making their claim.

Researching COI is not easy in today’s era of information because the wealth of available information also means that techniques for assessing the reliability of sources and for cross-checking information are even more important than before. The 2013 manual is updated and provides a comprehensive discussion of all aspects of researching and using country information in the context of applications for international protection.

The 2013 training manual can be downloaded on: http://www.coi-training.net/handbook/Researching-Country-of-Origin-Information-2013-edition-ACCORD-COI-Training-manual.pdf

You can order a print copy at www.coi-training.net.