Beyond Proof – Credibility Assessment in EU Asylum Systems
UNHCR report on EU state practices of credibility assessment in asylum claims (publication realised in the framework of the CREDO project)
As part of the CREDO project (led by the Hungarian Helsinki Committee), UNHCR has published its full report on credibility assessment in EU asylum systems. The report provides an insight into state practices concerning the assessment of credibility in asylum procedures and seeks to contribute to their further harmonisation in view of the significant discrepancies existing between member states and within national jurisdictions as regards the outcomes of such assessment. The scope of the report comprises only some aspects of credibility assessment: its purpose and place in the overall process, its underlying principles, the credibility indicators and the benefit of the doubt. While not constituting final guidance, the report seeks to identify and clarify key concepts of credibility assessment. It is also conceived as a practical tool for policy makers and asylum practitioners that tries to integrate new scientific evidence sources into the application of the legal concepts of refugee status determination. The report relies on factual evidence collected in three countries (Belgium, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom), supplemented by state guidance from Sweden, Canada, the USA and Australia and by case law from several EU and non-EU member states, as well as from the CJEU, the ECtHR, the ICTR and ICTY, and the UN Committee Against Torture.
The publication is part of the European Refugee Fund supported CREDO project led by the Hungarian Helsinki Committee in partnership with UNHCR, the International Association of Refugee Law Judges, and Asylum Aid. Read the full report here, and the summary here.