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Asylum and Immigration

Answer

The safety or otherwise of a particular part of Somalia for a particular claimant will depend on the individual circumstances of that claimant. We do not make a generalised assessment of safety irrespective of the individual circumstances.All Somali asylum and human rights applications are considered by the Home Office on their individual merits, in accordance with our obligations under the 1951 UN Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Each application is considered against the background of the latest available information about the situation in the country of origin. These sources include intergovernmental organisations, governmental sources and human rights organisations. Full account is taken of the ability of the individual concerned to safely reside in other parts of Somalia. caseworkers have access to the Somalia Country report produced by the Immigration and Nationality Directorate's (IND) Country of Origin Information Service as well as the Somalia Operational Guidance Note which assesses the most common types of asylum claims received and the circumstances in which they are likely to prove well founded or unfounded. Both documents are published on the IND website.The Government firmly believe that the right approach is to continue to carefully assess the protection needs of individuals on an individual basis. Returns are similarly taken forward on a case by case basis and we only enforce the return of an individual where we are satisfied that the person concerned will not be at risk and has been unsuccessful in any appeals against the decision in their particular case.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

18108; 439 c537-8W;439 c537-8W

Session

2005-06

Subjects

Asylum Somalia

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk