Dear Colleagues,
Please see the Terms of Reference below for a thematic review of country
information pertaining to women in the UKBA Country of Origin Reports.
Please contact me or Dr Khalid Koser, Chair of the Independent Advisory
Panel on Country Information, with any questions. Expressions of
interest should be sent to Dr Koser by 18 March 2011.
This TOR is also available at:
http://icinspector.independent.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/IAGCI-ITT-Women-May-20111.pdf
For more information about the Independent Advisory Group on Country
Information, please see:
http://icinspector.independent.gov.uk/country-information-reviews/
Please feel free to circulate to your networks.
Independent Advisory Group on Country Information
Outline project brief on the coverage of women in Country of Origin
Information (COI) Reports produced by COI Service, UK Border Agency,
Home Office
1. The Independent Advisory Group on Country Information (IAGCI) is part
of the Office of the Chief Inspector of the UK Border Agency. Its main
purpose is to review the content of all Country of Origin Information
(COI) produced by the UK Border Agency to help ensure that this is as
accurate, balanced, impartial and up to date as possible. COI is
information used in procedures that assess claims of individuals to
refugee status or other forms of international and humanitarian
protection. It is also used in policy formulation. The full Terms of
Reference for the IAGCI and minutes of earlier meetings are available on
its website
http://icinspector.independent.gov.uk/country-information-reviews/
2. Normally IAGCI focuses on particular COI Reports produced by the UK
Border Agency. COI Reports are produced at least twice a year on the top
20 asylum intake countries. They provide general background information
about the issues most commonly raised in asylum claims made in the
United Kingdom. They are compiled wholly from material produced by a
range of recognised external information sources and do not contain any
Home Office opinion or policy.
3. As well as focusing upon individual COI Reports, the IAGCI is
concerned to examine the way that particular generic issues are dealt
with across the full range of COI Reports produced on all twenty
countries. In the past such ‘cross-cutting’ reports have been
commissioned (by the Group’s predecessor the Advisory Panel on Country
Information) on gender issues; lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
issues; and children.
4. At its next meeting on May 24th, the IAGCI will consider the way that
women’s issues are dealt with in each of the 20 COI Reports produced,
and is looking to commission a review of the material in order to inform
this. The person commissioned to undertake this project will be an
experienced researcher with expertise on protection issues pertaining to
women and some knowledge of asylum and human rights issues, but will not
be expected to be an expert on all countries concerned.
5. The review should focus on the section entitled ‘Women’ within each
of the 20 COI Reports, but also consider the extent to which the
differential experiences of and issues pertaining to women have been
appropriately addressed throughout the reports. The extent to which the
following issues have been covered may warrant particular attention,
depending on the individual country context and the availability of
information: different profiles and protection concerns of women
(divorced, single, widowed, minor, elderly etc) that may have a bearing
on their vulnerability; freedom of movement; women-specific forms of
persecution; and laws and policies protecting women and their
implementation.
6. The review should aim to provide a brief assessment of the sections
on women in each COI Report regarding: (i) completeness - the extent to
which relevant available information on the position of women has been
reflected in the COI report. Additional sources should be identified
where appropriate; and (ii) accuracy and balance - whether relevant
information from source material has been accurately and appropriately
reflected in the COI Report, noting any specific errors or omissions.
7. The review should provide a brief comparative summary, noting the
strengths and weaknesses of the sections on women in the different reports.
8. The review should also consider the extent to which the
recommendations made in the first review of gender issues have been
implemented. The earlier review is available here
http://apci.homeoffice.gov.uk/PDF/APCI.9.4%20Coverage%20of%20Gender%20issues.pdf.
9. Recognizing that COI reports to date have primarily focused on women
as opposed to gender, it would also be useful if the report could
comment on issues where gender-based concerns apply to men and boys as well.
10. Before beginning the project, the researcher should carefully
consider the preface of the COI Reports to ensure that the specific
context of this work is fully understood. The stated purpose of the
documents is to provide an accurate, balanced and up to date summary of
the key available source documents regarding the human rights situation
in the country covered. In carrying out the project, the researcher
should also bear in mind that the level of information provided in each
COI Report on any given issue will depend upon the relevance of that
issue to the country concerned and the availability of information.
11. While there is room for individual discretion in the way the
researcher approaches the task and prepares a review, it would be
helpful for IAGCI if some specific guidelines were followed: (i) The
COI Report should be reviewed in the context of its purpose as set out
in paragraph 9 above, and the stated ‘cut off’ date for inclusion of
information in the report. (ii) When suggesting amendments, rather than
‘tracking changes’ on the original UKBA document, a list of suggested
changes should be provided as part of the review paper. (iii) Any
suggestions for additional information (or corrections to information in
the document) must be referenced to a source document for the UKBA to be
able to use it. If no published source is available to support the
suggested information, the reviewer may supply a letter providing the
information for use as a source document. UKBA can use foreign language
source documents, but only if the information is considered essential
and is not available in English language source.
12. Reviewers are requested to attend the IAGCI meeting at which their
review will be considered. The UK Border Agency will also be represented
at the meeting to provide responses to comments and recommendations made
in the review.
13. Reviews commissioned by IAGCI may be used as source documents for
future COI Reports.
14. Reviews are required by April 29th.
15. A flat fee of £5,000 is offered for this work.
16. Researchers interested in completing reviews should submit a one
page CV or letter demonstrating their expertise in women’s issues, human
rights and asylum to the IAGCI Chair, Dr Khalid Koser, at
[log in to unmask], by 18 March 2011. Reviews will be commissioned by 21
March 2011.
--
Dr Laura Hammond
Senior Lecturer
Dept of Development Studies
School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS)
Thornhaugh St, Russell Sq
London WC1H 0XG
Tel: 0207 898 4654
Fax: 0207 436 3844
--
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