Tribune. Social science researchers specializing in the study of the societies from which asylum seekers come in France, we call for a radical rethink of the application of the procedure in its current form.
The last few weeks have indeed seen a reversal of jurisprudence on the part of the National Court of Asylum (CNDA) on Afghanistan, which now considers that the “Indiscriminate violence” who hits Kabul is not “Of exceptional intensity”, and would no longer require the granting of protection to anyone at risk of deportation to that city.
Behind this legal formulation hides a recurring problem: how is the dangerousness of the situations in the societies from which asylum seekers are assessed? And who provides the expertise to the judges?
The CNDA has a research and documentation center (Ceredoc) responsible for producing notes to enlighten judges on the nature of the violence to which applicants are exposed. On reading these notes – the distribution of which is not public and remains limited to the CNDA, in contradiction with the operating procedures of the Court and the principle of equality of arms – we are struck by the number of inaccuracies and hasty or biased interpretations.
First of all, the sources used leave much to be desired: no scientific articles, but reports from international organizations and government agencies from other Western countries. However, in the case of civil wars, international organizations themselves are not in a position to have access to reliable data.
Poor quality of sources
In Afghanistan, from 2014, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, Unama) has closed most of its branches outside Kabul and its staff has been drastically reduced. All the services are grouped together in a few regional offices which now lack links in the rural districts. As a result, UN human rights offices in Afghanistan underestimate civilian casualties due to difficult access.
The same is true in Ethiopia where, since the start of the civil war in the Tigray region in November 2020, UN agencies have only had access to areas controlled by the government, thereby excluding most of the workers. civilian populations, especially rural populations. Other sources, such as the database of the NGO Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (Acled), are known to researchers for their poor quality.
You have 56.91% of this article to read. The rest is for subscribers only.