What we want
ecoi.net, the country of origin information system of the Austrian Red Cross’ department ACCORD, aims at contributing to fair and efficient refugee status determination procedures by securing easy and fast access to high-quality and up-to-date country of origin information (COI) for all actors involved in asylum cases.
ecoi.net is committed to an impartial information policy and to the objective and neutral presentation of country of origin information. While ecoi.net focuses on human rights issues relevant to procedures of international protection, it includes information regardless of how they affect the substantive outcome of a decision.
ecoi.net promotes the principle of public domain information as well as equal access to high-quality country of origin information for all persons and institutions involved in asylum cases or other forms of international protection.
How we work
ecoi.net covers more than 160 sources on a regular basis. ecoi.net preferably uses reliable information sources or sources with a high reputation, such as the United Nations, international non-governmental organisations, news and media services or government departments dealing with asylum and refugee issues. However, ecoi.net will also include less prestigious sources if they offer an added information value.
Comprehensive country of origin information encompasses many dimensions of human rights as well as information on the political and living situation in a given country, presentation of ethnic groups and cultural traditions and assessments of the possible development of a security situation.
ecoi.net does not cover events in all countries of the world to the same extent, but there is a focus on countries of origin of asylum applicants in Europe.
For a list of all regularly covered sources, along with information on what countries each source is covered for, see: our sources.
Who we are
ecoi.net is managed by ACCORD, the Austrian Centre for Country of Origin and Asylum Research and Documentation. ACCORD is a department of the Austrian Red Cross, based in Vienna, and provides neutral and impartial COI research services to all actors involved in Austrian asylum procedures and to other organisations based on agreements. Furthermore, ACCORD provides COI training.
The German Informationsverbund Asyl & Migration contributes to the content management on ecoi.net, is a founding member and partner in strategic decisions. Informationsverbund Asyl & Migration is based in Berlin and runs the website www.asyl.net.
Cooperations
The COI unit of the Austrian Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum publishes selected products in cooperation with ecoi.net. A registration is required for access. For details, see www.staatendokumentation.at.
Several organizations kindly granted us permission to (re)publish their publications. Among them are Amnesty International, the UK Home Office, the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada and the Irish Refugee Documentation Centre.
ecoi.net's aims are supported by the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
