COI Update Vol. 219 9 June 2020

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This document provides an update of UK Country Guidance case law, UK Home Office publications

and developments in refugee producing countries (focusing on those which generate the most

asylum seekers in the UK) between 26 May and 8 June 2020.

Ctrl + click the hyperlinked text to access the documents

Legal Update

No UK Country Guidance cases were promulgated in the reporting period.

UK Home Office Publications Update

Kenya

UK Home Office, Country Policy and Information Note, Kenya: Actors of protection, 5 June 2020

Iraq

UK Home Office, Country Policy and Information Note, Iraq: Internal relocation, civil documentation

and returns, 27 May 2020

UK Home Office, Country Policy and Information Note, Iraq: Security and humanitarian situation, 27

May 2020

Country News and Publications

Afghanistan

Reporters Without Borders, Afghan journalists fall victim to both bombings and Covid-19, 4 June

2020

The New Humanitarian, In Afghanistan, the coronavirus fight goes through Taliban territory, 3 June

2020

International Federation for Human Rights urgent appeal, Afghanistan: Killing of Mr. Ibrahim Ebrat,

representative of the Civil Society Joint Working Group in Zabul Province, 2 June 2020

Algeria

Reporters Without Borders, Instead of combatting Covid-19, Algeria’s authorities crack down on

journalists, 8 June 2020

Amnesty International research, Algeria: Make Findings Of Investigation Into Fekhar's Death Public,

28 May 2020

Bangladesh

UNICEF press release, For many in Bangladesh, staying home isn’t an option, 5 June 2020

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Reporters Without Borders, Open letter to Bangladeshi premier on Covid-19 press freedom

violations, 3 June 2020

OHCHR press release, Bangladesh must end persecution of journalist, say UN experts, 26 May 2020

Cameroon

Human Rights Watch dispatches, Renewed Attacks on Aid Workers in Cameroon, 4 June 2020

International Federation for Human Rights urgent appeal, Cameroon: ongoing enforced

disappearance and rumoured torture and killing of Mr. Samuel Ajiekah Abuwe, aka Samuel Wazizi, 4

June 2020

China

Human Rights Watch news, Chinese Human Rights Lawyer Released After 4 Years, 5 June 2020

Reporters Without Borders, More than three decades after Tiananmen, China remains press

freedom’s number one enemy, 4 June 2020

Radio Free Asia, Veteran 1989 Activist Detained Over Online Tiananmen Massacre Event, 3 June 2020

Human Rights Watch news, China’s Lesbian Parenting Case is a Children’s Rights Issue, 1 June 2020

Reporters Without Borders, China: celebrity blogger gets 4 years in jail for criticizing Communist

Party, 27 May 2020

China-Tibet

Radio Free Asia, Tibetan Street Vendors Shut Down in Sichuan’s Chengdu City, 2 June 2020

China-Xinjiang

Amnesty International campaigns, China: Uyghur Businessman Imprisoned In Secret Trial: Abuduaini

Kadier, 8 June 2020

Radio Free Asia, Authorities to Destroy Uyghur Cemetery in Xinjiang Capital, 4 June 2020

Amnesty International campaigns, China: Grave Health Concerns For Missing Uyghur: Gulshan Abbas,

27 May 2020

Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

OHCHR press release, 1,300 civilians killed in the DRC in past eight months – Bachelet, 5 June 2020

International Federation for Human Rights press release, DRC: Wait for Fair Trial Continues, Ten

Years After Murder of Floribert Chebeya and Fidèle Bazana, 2 June 2020

The New Humanitarian, In the news: New Ebola outbreak in northwestern Congo, 2 June 2020

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Ethiopia

Amnesty International news, OP-ED: Ethiopia must end culture of impunity to heal from decades of

human rights violations, 2 June 2020

Amnesty International news, Ethiopia: Rape, extrajudicial executions, homes set alight in security

operations in Amhara and Oromia, 29 May 2020

India

OHCHR press release, COVID-19: Urgent help for India’s forgotten migrant workers must follow

Supreme Court ruling, say UN experts, 4 June 2020

International Federation for Human Rights urgent appeal, India: Arbitrary detention of several

defenders for protesting against the CAA, 29 May 2020

Reporters Without Borders, Surge in harassment of Indian reporters over coronavirus coverage, 27

May 2020

Iran

Amnesty International action, Iran: Free Nasrin Sotoudeh, 8 June 2020

Human Rights Watch news, Iran: Free Students Long in Solitary, 6 June 2020

Human Rights Watch dispatches, Victims of Iran-Afghan Border Drowning Deserve Justice, 28 May

2020

Iraq

Human Rights Watch commentary, Iraq’s new government should lift barriers to free speech, 5 June

2020

Kenya

Human Rights Watch news, Kenya: Quarantine Conditions Undermine Rights, 28 May 2020

Lebanon

International Crisis Group report, Pulling Lebanon out of the Pit, 8 June 2020

Amnesty International news, Lebanon: Abandoned migrant domestic workers must be protected, 3

June 2020

International Crisis Group, Lebanon is on the Brink of Economic Collapse, 3 June 2020

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Libya

Amnesty International news, Libya: Retaliatory attacks against civilians must be halted and

investigated, 5 June 2020

Human Rights Watch news, Libya: Landmines Left After Armed Group Withdraws, 3 June 2020

Malawi

Human Rights Watch news, Malawi: Ensure Free, Fair, Safe Elections, 3 June 2020

Myanmar/Burma

Radio Free Asia, Local Officials in Myanmar’s Rakhine State Resign, Fearing Arrest by Military, 5 June

2020

Human Rights Watch news, Myanmar: Hundreds Jailed for Covid-19 Violations, 28 May 2020

Nepal

Reporters Without Borders, Nepalese journalists threatened, attacked and censored over Covid-19

coverage, 8 June 2020

Human Rights Watch news, Nepal: Amend Intrusive Intelligence Bill, 29 May 2020

Amnesty International news, Nepal: Authorities must deliver justice for Dalit killings, 28 May 2020

Nigeria

Human Rights Watch dispatches, Authorities in Nigeria Should Ensure #JusticeForUwa, 2 June 2020

Amnesty International news, Nigeria: Help children ravaged by war or risk a ‘lost generation’ in the

Northeast, 27 May 2020

North Korea

Radio Free Asia, North Korea Threatens to Punish Parents and Teachers for Teenage Sex, 28 May

2020

Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs)

Amnesty International news, Israel/OPT: Court to rubber stamp travel ban on Amnesty campaigner,

a bitter blow for justice and human rights, 31 May 2020

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Pakistan

Reporters Without Borders, Pakistan: RSF calls for independent investigation into journalist’s

murder, 28 May 2020

EASO COI Report, Pakistan: Situation of Afghan refugees, 27 May 2020

South Africa

The New Humanitarian, Six ways COVID-19 is changing South Africa, 28 May 2020

Reporters Without Borders, Journalist flees South Africa after police beatings over lockdown

reporting, 27 May 2020

Sri Lanka

Amnesty International research, Sri Lanka: Submission To The Special Rapporteur On Freedom Of

Religion Or Belief, 8 June 2020

International Crisis Group commentary, Sri Lanka’s Other COVID-19 Crisis: Is Parliamentary

Democracy at Risk?, 29 May 2020

Sudan

OHCHR press release, Sudan: Khartoum massacre victims and their relatives still waiting for justice

one year on, 3 June 2020

Human Rights Watch news, Sudan: Justice for June 3 Crackdown Delayed, 2 June 2020

Syria

Reporters Without Borders, Journalist arrested in city controlled by Syrian government, 4 June 2020

Turkey

International Federation for Human Rights urgent appeal, Turkey: Judicial harassment of 19

prominent human rights lawyers from the Progressive Lawyers’ Association, 8 June 2020

Reporters Without Borders, Turkey: Joint letter condemning withholding of state advertising, 4 June

2020

Human Rights Watch news, Turkey: Free Rights Defender Following European Court Ruling, 2 June

2020

Amnesty International research, Turkey: Halt Illegal Deportation Of People To Syria And Ensure Their

Safety, 29 May 2020

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Vietnam

Radio Free Asia, Vietnamese Villagers Detained in Dong Tam Land Clash Are Still Denied Family Visits,

2 June 2020

Yemen

Reporters Without Borders, Yemen: AFP contributor gunned down outside home in Aden, 2 June

2020

The New Humanitarian, UN appeals for Yemen aid amidst growing pandemic, donor doubts, 2 June

2020

UNHCR news story, For Yemenis on the brink, aid funding gap spells disaster, 2 June 2020

Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, Yemen: The Implications Of Forced Immobility, 28 May

2020

Zimbabwe

Amnesty International campaigns, Zimbabwe: Hospitalized Activists Risk Being Jailed, 8 June 2020

Amnesty International news, Zimbabwe: Drop bogus charges against opposition leaders who

suffered sexual assault, 27 May 2020

Reporters Without Borders, Zimbabwe: Two journalists held for violating coronavirus lockdown rules,

26 May 2020

Sources consulted: Amnesty International; Human Rights Watch; Institute for War and Peace

Reporting; Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC); International Crisis Group; International

Federation for Human Rights (FIDH); International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR); The New

Humanitarian; Radio Free Asia; Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty; Reporters Without Borders; UN

Agencies, Committees, Special Rapporteurs and news.

Sources consulted for annual reports: Amnesty International; Freedom House; Human Rights Watch;

U.S. Department of State

Additional useful COI databases for case-specific country research (non-exhaustive):

o Asylos’s research notes [Subscription only] o COI Forum [Subscription only] o EASO COI Portal [European Asylum Support Office’s portal] o Electronic Immigration Network [Subscription only] o ECOI.net [European Country of Origin Information Network] o Refworld [UNHCR’s portal] o ReliefWeb

For useful sources arranged by theme consult ARC Foundation’s free Thematic COI Sources toolkit.