Country Conditions Reports

As part of the asylum application, an applicant must submit documentation providing background information about the general conditions and state of human rights in their country of origin. Country Conditions Reports may be newspaper articles, government reports, non-governmental organization reports, among others. This information may assist in supporting an applicant's claim of suffered persecution or fear that they will suffer persecution.

The country reports listed below can also be found on Refworld*, UNHCR's online database. Refworld can be used to search topics by keyword and/or country and features international reports from both governments and non-governmental organizations.

*Disponible en español.

UNHCR Eligibility Guidelines

These reports provide guidance on claims from asylum-seekers from a specific country or region who may qualify for protection based on certain "risk profiles" or who find themselves in certain circumstances. 

• Afghanistan (2016)
• Colombia (2015)
• Côte d'Ivoire (2012)
• Czech Roma (1999)
• El Salvador (2016)
• Eritrea (2011)
• Guatemala (2018)
• Honduras (2016)
• Iraq (2012)
• Kosovo (2009)
• Pakistan: Members of Religious Minorities (2017)
• Slovak Roma (1998)
• Somalia (2010)
• Somalia: City of Galkacyo (2010)
• Sri Lanka (2012)
• Venezuela (2018)

Select UNHCR Reports 

• Children on the Run: Unaccompanied Children Leaving Central America and Mexico and the Need for International Protection (report examines why unaccompanied children are fleeing the Northern Triangle of Central America and Mexico)
• Women on the Run: First-Hand Accounts of Refugees Fleeing El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico (report discusses the situation facing unaccompanied and separated children moving across borders from Central America into Mexico)
• Guatemala Background Paper (2013) (Americas Country of Origin Series)

General Country Reports*

• Amnesty International: Country Profiles
• Freedom House: Freedom in the World Report
• Human Rights Watch: World Report
• U.S. Department of State: Human Rights Reports

*Reports are typically updated on an annual basis.

Further Resources

• Center for Gender & Refugee Studies: Manual for Finding Country Conditions Evidence for Asylum Cases
• Bureau des Avocats Internationaux; Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti: Country Condition Information
• Executive Office for Immigration Review; U.S. Department of Justice: Database of Country Conditions Research
• International Refugee Rights Initiative: Country of Origin Information Experts