Research Guides: Immigration Law Research: Country Conditions/Country of Origin Information (COI) Research

Why COI?

Country Conditions/Country of Origin Information (COI) Research is the process of gathering information about the internal conditions of a foreign country. Lawyers that represent refugees seeking asylum in the U.S. must prove that their clients are "unable or unwilling to return to, and [are] unable or unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection of, that country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion." (see 8 U.S.C. sec. 1101(a)(42)(A); 8 U.S.C. sec. 1158(b)(1)(A)).

U.S. Government Sources

CIA - World Factbook
The World Factbook provides information on the history, people, government, economy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 267 world entities.
DOJ/EOIR - Country Conditions Research
The one stop shop for immigration judges. EOIR (Executive Office for Immigration Review), which is under the DOJ (Department of Justice), is the executive agency of Immigration Judges and the Board of Immigration Appeals. It collects country reports from the U.S. State Department, Foreign Governments, NGOs, and the media.
DOS - Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
Annual human rights reports by the U.S. Department of State (DOS). The starting point for USCIS asylum officers and DOJ/EOIR immigration judges.
DOS - Country Reports on Terrorism
U.S. law requires the Secretary of State to provide Congress, by April 30 of each year, a full and complete report on terrorism with regard to those countries and groups meeting criteria set forth in the legislation.
DOS - International Religious Freedom Reports
Annual reports on the status of religious freedom in every country. Covers government policies violating religious belief and practices of groups, religious denominations and individuals, and U.S. policies to promote religious freedom.
DOS - Trafficking in Persons Report
U.S. Government’s principal diplomatic tool to engage foreign governments on human trafficking. It is also the world’s most comprehensive resource of governmental anti-human trafficking efforts.
DOS - Advancing Freedom and Democracy Reports
Reports describe U.S. efforts to support democracy and human rights in nondemocratic countries and countries undergoing democratic transitions worldwide.

Foreign Government Sources

Canada - Immigration and Refugee Board's National Documentation Packages
The Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) of Canada produces National Documentation Packages (NDPs) for every country when there is a claim for refugee protection. The NDP is a compilation of publicly available documents that report on country conditions such as political, social, cultural, economic, and human rights conditions.
Canada - Immigration and Refugee Board's Responses to Information Requests
Responses to Information Requests (RIRs) are research reports on country conditions. They are requested by IRB decision-makers.
Denmark - Danish Immigration Service Publications
The Danish Immigration Service's Country of Origin Information Division provides information gathered on fact-finding missions, in which regional experts themselves travel to the countries in question and collect information at meetings with national authorities, international organisations and national NGOs. These reports are translated into English.
Finland - Finnish Immigration Service
The Finnish Immigration Service's Country Information Service produces reports on country conditions. Some of these reports are translated into English.
Norway - Norwegian Country of Origin Information Centre
Norway's LandInfo database provides select publications from the Norwegian Country of Origin Information Centre. Some of these publications are translated into English. To use the database, select a continent on the left column and then a country within that continent to see if there are any country reports.
U.K. - Home Office Country Policy and Information Reports
Lead UK government department responsible for policies on immigration, passports, counter-terrorism, policing, drugs and crime.

International Organizations Sources

Amnesty International
Non-governmental organization focused on human rights. Issues reports on human rights conditions in countries around the world
Asylum Information Database
A database managed by the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE), containing information on asylum procedures, reception conditions, detention and content of international protection in 23 European countries.
European Country of Origin Information Network
ACCORD (The Austrian Centre for Country Origin and Asylum Research and Documentation) manages the ecoi.net database, which provides easy and fast access to high-quality and up-to-date country of origin information for all actors involved in asylum cases.
Freedom House
An independent watchdog organization dedicated to the expansion of freedom and democracy around the world
Human Rights First
A nonprofit, nonpartisan human rights organization.
Human Rights Watch
Monitors and reports on human rights violations of all types in 90 countries
IACHR - Country Reports
IACHR (the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights) provides country reports for nations in the American hemisphere. The "reports" section of the website also provides separate links to annual reports and thematic reports.
International Crisis Group - Reports
The site contains detailed reports and analysis and a monthly bulletin, CrisisWatch, which gives an overview of current and potential conflicts around the world.
International Justice Resource Center (IJRC)
Provides information and links to sources about human rights conditions
U.N. Universal Periodic Review
Information prepared by the State concerned, which can take the form of a national report, and any other information considered relevant by the State concerned, which could be presented either orally or in writing.
UN - Human Rights by Country
UN's Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights page

Asylum Cases & Administrative Decisions/Guidance

European Database of Asylum Law (EDAL)
Provides case summaries from EU jurisdictions
Lexis - Immigration page
Provides access to federal court cases as well as administrative decisions and guidance, and specialized secondary sources. Includes advanced search feature. For ex: [name of country] /s "country condition."
U.N. Refworld
The UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees)'s database, Refworld, maintains a current collection of refugee cases and legislation. Although it also has country reports, those reports are dated. In 2019, the UN partnered with ACCORD. Now, ACCORD is responsible for maintaining a current collection of country reports and Refworld is responsible for maintaining a current collection of refugee cases and legislation.
Westlaw - Immigration Practice Center
Westlaw Next's Home Page > Immigration. Provides access to federal court cases as well as administrative decisions and guidance, and specialized secondary sources. Includes advanced search feature. For ex: [name of country] /s "country condition"

Academic Sources (Books & Articles) on Country Conditions

Academic Search Premier
Click the link here, then get to other EBSCO databases (for interdisciplinary research) > choose databases > select all > now do an advanced search!
Lexis
Use Lexis to find law review articles on country conditions.
UMN Libraries Catalog
Find books and ebooks about the country and/or groups living in the country
Westlaw
Use Westlaw to find law review articles on country conditions.

News & Research Guides

BBC News - Country Profiles
Full profiles provide an instant guide to history, politics and economic background of countries and territories, and background on key institutions. They also include audio and video clips from BBC archives.
Google Advanced Search
An obvious choice, but still a good one!
International Crisis Group - Crisis Watch
CrisisWatch is a monthly early warning bulletin designed to provide a regular update on the state of the most significant situations of conflict around the world.
Law Library of Congress Guides to the Nations of the World
Use these research guides to find credible urls of foreign government websites & portals
Lexis Advance - News
Now, use search bar or browse international sources.
The New Humanitarian
The New Humanitarian (formerly IRIN News)was founded by the United Nations in 1995, in the wake of the Rwandan genocide, out of the conviction that objective on-the-ground reporting of humanitarian crises could help mitigate or even prevent future disasters of that magnitude. Almost twenty years later, we became an independent non-profit news organisation, allowing us to cast a more critical eye over the multibillion-dollar emergency aid industry and draw attention to its failures at a time of unprecedented humanitarian need.
Westlaw - News
Select all content (right-hand-column) then plug in keywords

Directories of Expert Witnesses on Country Conditions

Amera International - COI database
Click on a country to view recommended COI experts.
Center for Gender & Refugee Studies
organization focused on serving women, children, LGBT, and other refugees fleeing gender based violence. They provide a list of experts willing to write a declaration of country conditions on request. New users must create an account on the CGRS's website.
Electronic Immigration Network
A UK based charity that provides a public directory of country conditions experts.

Maps

National Geographic Map Maker Interactive
Can turn on and off markers such as rivers, grid lines, border country names, etc.
UN's Geospatial Information Section
Clunky website, but it provides general maps and mission maps as monitored by the U.N.
University of Texas Perry-Castaneda Map Collection
Such a cool map collection! Search by country or by theme (including the theme ethnography & religion).
UN Refworld Maps