Attachments
Introduction
The purpose of this report is to provide information relevant for international protection status determination. The report contains information on targeting of individuals in Afghanistan.
The reference period is 1 December 2021–30 June 2022, and the report is partly to be viewed as a continuation of the EASO COI report: Afghanistan – Country Focus (January 2022).
Sections covering education personnel and forced recruitment were not covered in this preceding report. Therefore, these sections have reference periods starting on the date of the Taliban takeover of power in Afghanistan (15 August 2021). The background chapters also contain information from before the reference period.
Methodology
This report was jointly drafted and reviewed by EUAA and national COI departments in EU+ countries1 mentioned in the Acknowledgements section. The report was drafted and reviewed in line with the EASO COI Report Methodology (2019)2 and the EASO COI Writing and Referencing Style Guide (2019).3 Defining the terms of reference The terms of reference were defined by EUAA and were based on inputs on information needs from country of origin information (COI) and policy experts in EU+ countries within the framework of a Country Guidance development on Afghanistan. The terms of reference are available in Annex 2: Terms of Reference.
Collecting information
In accordance with the EASO COI Report Methodology, the content of this report relies on a range of different open-source material, as well as interviews and email contacts with oral sources. Information was mainly gathered from public COI reports of national migration administrations, media reports, research articles, reports by international organisations, and international non-governmental organisations.
Quality control
The report was peer reviewed by COI specialists from EU+ countries mentioned in the Acknowledgements section, and internally by EUAA. All comments made by reviewers were taken into consideration and most of them were implemented in the final draft. Some information was added after the peer review during the finalisation of the report. The two main reports from which information has been added includes the first report released by United Nation’s Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) since the Taliban takeover, covering human rights in Afghanistan during the period 15 August 2021–15 June 20224 , and a report by the Danish Immigration Service (DIS) based on a fact-finding mission to Islamabad, Pakistan, in March and April 2022.5 Sources In accordance with the EASO COI Report Methodology oral sources were interviewed and contacted via email to fill in gaps in available written information. Material from interviews with oral sources for the EASO COI report: Afghanistan – Country Focus (January 2022) was also used for this report. Some sources were anonymised upon their own request. Sixteen oral sources were consulted in total and included experts based both in Afghanistan and abroad.
They hold a variety of specialisations, such as in human rights, Islamic law, anthropology, and armed groups. All sources are outlined in Annex 1: Bibliography.
The local Afghan media outlet Hasht-e Subh is used as a source in the report, although a shift in the reporting tone was noted during the drafting exercise which became more critical of the Taliban, especially on events taking place in Panjsher Province. Due to difficulties assessing the reliability of this source, case-by-case assessments have been made on the inclusion of reports from Hasht-e Subh. Particular care has been taken on topics related to resistance groups involving Panjsher Province, and the Taliban’s interactions with the local population of this area as well as with Tajiks in general. Reporting from Hasht-e Subh was often uncorroborated. Efforts to corroborate the information have been made but were not always possible.