Summary Conclusions of the Expert Roundtable on Credibility Assessment in Asylum Procedures
The aim of the meeting was to explore in more depth a number of aspects and issues related to credibility assessment that were identified through the CREDO projects as requiring further examination, both from a doctrinal/legal point of view and in terms of their application in practice.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) convened an Expert Roundtable on Credibility Assessment in Asylum Procedures in Budapest, Hungary on 14-15 January 2015. The meeting was organized with the Hungarian Helsinki Committee (HHC) as part of the “CREDO” projects funded by the European Commission and aimed at improving asylum decision-making in the EU through more structured, objective and protection-oriented credibility assessment and at promoting a harmonized approach that reflects relevant provisions in EU law and international standards.
The participants included asylum adjudicators and managers, judges, lawyers, academics, as well as representatives from non-governmental organizations and UNHCR. Twenty-two experts from EU Member States, Norway, Canada and New Zealand, as well as the European Asylum Support Office (EASO), attended the meeting along with 10 resource persons from the HHC and UNHCR.
The aim of the meeting was to explore in more depth a number of aspects and issues related to credibility assessment that were identified through the CREDO projects as requiring further examination, both from a doctrinal/legal point of view and in terms of their application in practice.
The following Summary of Deliberations reflect broadly the themes, issues and understandings that emerged from the discussions. They benefited from rich contributions of specialists from 14 national systems as well as the regional (European) and international levels.