Somalia Eligibility Guidelines
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UNHCR ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES FOR ASSESSING THE INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION NEEDS OF ASYLUM-SEEKERS FROM SOMALIA United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) 5 May 2010 HCR/EG/SOM/10/1 NOTE UNHCR Eligibility Guidelines are issued by the Office to assist decision-makers, including UNHCR staff, Governments and private practitioners, in assessing the international protection needs of asylum-seekers. They are authoritative legal interpretations of the refugee criteria in respect of specific groups on the basis of objectively assessed social, political, economic, security, human rights and humanitarian conditions in the country/territory of origin concerned. The pertinent international protection needs are analyzed in detail and recommendations made as to how the applications in question should be decided upon in line with the relevant principles and criteria of refugee law as per, notably, the UNHCR Statute, the 1951 Convention and its 1967 Protocol, and relevant regional instruments such as the Cartagena Declaration, the 1969 OAU Convention and the EU Qualification Directive. The recommendations may also touch upon, as relevant, complementary or subsidiary protection regimes. UNHCR issues Eligibility Guidelines to promote the accurate interpretation and application of the above- mentioned refugee criteria in line with its supervisory responsibility as contained in paragraph 8 of its Statute in conjunction with Article 35 of the 1951 Convention and Article II of its 1967 Protocol and based on the expertise it has developed over the years in matters related to eligibility and refugee status determination. It is expected that the positions and guidance contained in the Guidelines will be considered carefully by the authorities and the judiciary in reaching decisions on asylum applications. The Guidelines are based on rigorous research, factual evidence provided by UNHCR’s global network of field offices and information from independent country specialists, researchers and other sources, rigorously reviewed for reliability. The Guidelines are posted on UNHCR’s Refworld website at http://www.refworld.org. Table of Contents I. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................1 II. TRENDS IN DISPLACEMENT AND TYPES OF SOMALI ASYLUM CLAIMS............................2 III. BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND DEVELOPMENTS.............................................................3 A. SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL SOMALIA.......................................................................................................3 B. PUNTLAND..............................................................................................................................................8 C. SOMALILAND..........................................................................................................................................8 IV. ELIGIBILITY FOR INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION...................................................................9 A. GENERAL APPROACH..............................................................................................................................9 B. MAIN GROUPS AT RISK ON THE BASIS OF ARTICLE 1(A) OF THE 1951 CONVENTION AND/OR ARTICLE I(1) OF THE OAU CONVENTION ............................................................................................................10 1. Southern and Central Somalia......................................................................................................10 a) Individuals Perceived as Supporting the TFG, AMISOM or the ENDF ..................................................10 b) Individuals Perceived as Contravening Islamic Laws or Decrees ............................................................11 c) Civil Society Actors (Human Rights Defenders and Humanitarian Workers) and Journalists.................13 d) Members of Minority Clans .....................................................................................................................15 e) Individuals Forcibly Recruited.................................................................................................................16 f) Members of Minority Religious Groups ..................................................................................................17 g) Women and Girls .....................................................................................................................................18 h) Children....................................................................................................................................................20 i) Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Individuals ................................................................21 j) Individuals Belonging to a Clan Engaged in a Blood Feud......................................................................21 k) Victims of Trafficking..............................................................................................................................22 2. Puntland........................................................................................................................................22 a) Individuals Perceived as Critics or Opponents of the Puntland Authorities, Including Journalists and Members of Islamic Groups.....................................................................................................................22 b) Individuals Perceived to be Opponents of Islamists.................................................................................23 c) Members of Minority Religious Groups ..................................................................................................23 d) Individuals Belonging to a Clan Engaged in a Blood Feud......................................................................23 e) Women and Girls .....................................................................................................................................24 f) LGBT Individuals ....................................................................................................................................24 3. Somaliland ....................................................................................................................................25 a) Individuals Perceived as Critics or Opponents of the Somaliland Authorities .........................................25 b) Members of Minority Religious Groups ..................................................................................................26 c) Women and Girls .....................................................................................................................................26 d) Individuals Belonging to a Clan Engaged in a Blood Feud......................................................................26 e) LGBT Individuals ....................................................................................................................................27 f) Victims of Trafficking..............................................................................................................................27 C. AGENTS OF PERSECUTION.....................................................................................................................28 1. Islamic Militant Groups................................................................................................................28 2. Criminality Following the Collapse of Clan Protection in Mogadishu ........................................29 3. Transitional Federal Government and AMISOM .........................................................................29 D. THE AVAILABILITY OF EFFECTIVE STATE OR DE FACTO PROTECTION IN SOMALIA, SOMALILAND AND PUNTLAND............................................................................................................................................31 1. State Protection ............................................................................................................................31 2. Clan Protection.............................................................................................................................31 3. Sharia Courts in Areas Controlled by Islamic Insurgents............................................................32 4. AMISOM.......................................................................................................................................32 E. INTERNAL FLIGHT OR RELOCATION ALTERNATIVE (IFA/IRA).............................................................33 1. General Considerations................................................................................................................33 2. Southern and Central Somalia......................................................................................................34 3. Somaliland and Puntland..............................................................................................................34 F. EXCLUSION FROM INTERNATIONAL REFUGEE PROTECTION..................................................................35 G. ELIGIBILITY UNDER AN EXTENDED/BROADER REFUGEE CRITERIA OR ON THE BASIS OF COMPLEMENTARY/SUBSIDIARY FORMS OF PROTECTION IN A SITUATION OF GENERALIZED VIOLENCE38 1. Armed Conflict in Southern and Central Somalia ........................................................................39 2. Armed Conflict in Puntland and Somaliland ................................................................................41