§ Lord Kirkhillasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they intend to make public the country assessments prepared in respect of those countries from which the majority of asylum-seekers to the United Kingdom come. [HL1909]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord Williams of Mostyn)Country assessments are being produced by the Country Information and Policy Unit within the Immigration and Nationality Directorate on the 35 main asylum producing countries in the United Kingdom. The assessments will be completed over the next few weeks and will be made publicly available on the Home Office Internet site. Copies of the assessments will be placed in the Library as they become available. The assessments are all sourced to information obtained from independent external sources and from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. A bibliography of sources used is included in each assessment.
Assessments are being prepared in respect of the following countries:
- Afghanistan
- Algeria
- Angola
- Bangladesh
- Bulgaria
- Cameroon
- China
- Colombia
- Cote d' Ivoire
- Cyprus
- Democratic Republic of Congo (former Zaire)
- Ethiopia
- Former Republic of Yugoslavia
- Ghana
- India
- Iran
- Iraq
- Kenya
- Lebanon
- Liberia
- Lithuania
- Nigeria
- Pakistan
- Poland
- Romania
- Russia
WA 124 - Rwanda
- Sierra Leone
- Somalia
- Sri Lanka
- Sudan
- Ukraine
- Uganda
- Tanzania
- Turkey
It is intended to revise and update the assessments periodically; approximately every six months, depending on reported circumstances in the country concerned.