Final Report
2016-22

AnnualReport2021-22

Contents●

Message from the Founders●Partnership work

●About us●Funders, partners, friends●Highlights of our work

●Our finances•

Reviewing COI products•

Researching COI products•

Delivering a case-specific research service•

Developing and delivering training webinars

Message from the Founders
We established ARC Foundation in October 2016 as a charity to drive up standards in the quality and use of Country of Origin
Information (COI). We’re very proud of all the progress we’ve made in furthering this goal during the past five years and inparticular the improvements in the quality of UK Government and inter-governmental country information products. In addition, we
have assisted legal representatives and those supporting people claiming asylum to access relevant COI research and empoweredthem to undertake their own COI research. Through our collaboration with our project partner Asylos we have also undertaken
innovative COI research helping to close country information gaps thereby contributing to more informed decision making.
So, after five very intense but fulfilling years we have concluded that ARC Foundation’s charitable aims could best be realised
through the creation of a single centre of expertise on COI in the UK under Asylos’ stewardship. Consequently, we have decided todraw a curtain on ARC Foundation’s work and transition our projects over to Asylos. We are excited to be joining Asylos’ Board toprovide strategic direction as it takes this work forward.
Our work over the past five+ years would not have been possible without the advice of our Board of Trustees, the hard work of ourAssociates, and the trust our project partners, collaborators and various governmental and civil society stakeholders have placed in us.
We want to take this opportunity to thank you all and we wish you well in these challenging times in all of our quests to ensure thatthose in need of protection are provided with it and treated with the dignity and respect they deserve.
Best wishes, Steph & Liz
ARC Foundation Annual Report 2021-2022

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About us
ARC Foundation forms the charitable arm of Asylum ResearchCentre (ARC), which was set up in 2010 to improve standardsin refugee determination procedures by:• Ensuring that decision makers have access to high quality
Country of Origin Information (COI);• Providing tools and other resources for legal representatives
across Europe to assist their case preparation;• Joining forces with other civil society partners to addressconcerns in relation to specific countries and risk profiles.
Since its inception, ARC has established itself as aninternationally recognised source of expertise in the research
and analysis of COI in asylum claims and provides research,
project management and training services.

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Mission Statement
ARC Foundation’s mission is toimprove standards in refugee statusdetermination processes and ensurethat those in need of protection arerecognised as such.
What is COI?
Country of Origin Information (COI)
informs decision makers about
conditions in the countries of originof asylum applicants. COI should be
accurate, reliable, relevant, current,objective, traceable and transparent
and is central to refugee statusdetermination.

Click for more info
about our trustees

Founders & Directors

Trustees
Mike Kaye – Chair(2016­—2022)
Freelance Consultant and former Advocacy Managerfor Still Human Still Here
Duncan Grant – Treasurer(2017—2022)
Interim Head of Corporate Account Partnershipat Place2BeChristine Bacon(2016—2022)
Artistic Director at Ice & Fire
Alfredo Campos(2019—2022)
General Secretary and Head of Legal Department
at MUN2
Lucy Gregg(2019—2022)
Head of Secretariat to the UK’s National Preventive
Mechanism
Raza Halim(2017—2022)
Barrister at Garden Court Chambers

ARC Foundation Annual Report 2021-22

Kalvir Kaur(2016—2019)
Solicitor at Freedom from TortureDavid Neale(2019—2022)
Legal Researcher at Garden Court Chambers
Jo Pettitt(2016—2022)
Former Head of Research and Survivor Activism
at Freedom from Torture, now freelanceResearch Consultant
Dr Christel Querton(2016—2022)
Lecturer in Law at the University of the Westof England and Barrister at Lamb Building(door tenant)Liz Williams(2021—2022)
Policy Impact Manager at theModern Slavery and Human Rights Policy
and Evidence Centre

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Stephanie Huber(2016—2022)
Liz Williams(2016—2021)

Associates
We are grateful to the following Associates
who have provided invaluable research support
at various times during ARC Foundation’s lifetime:
Ariel Plotkin
Bogdan Ghenea
Dastan Salehi
Emily Wilbourn
Jo Pettitt
Lizzy Galliver
Misha Nayak-Oliver
Natasha Tsangarides
Rachel Gasowski© ARC Foundation. From left to right: Mike, Duncan, Christine,Alfredo, Lucy, Raza, Kalvir, David, Jo, Christel, Liz, and Stephanie.

Sophie Kloos
Director, Asylos

From the beginning, the partnership between ARC Foundation and Asylos has been about working
towards a common goal. Together we have developed new projects to further fair and evidencebased asylum decision-making and have shared our respective knowledge on best practice. Withthe transfer of projects from ARC Foundation to Asylos we are creating a one-stop-shop for COI
research, which makes this research even more accessible for asylum seekers in need. Asylos isincredibly honoured to be entrusted with these projects. It is full of enthusiasm that we are stepping
up to continue ARC Foundation’s important work. We are excited to develop Asylos into a centre ofexpertise that combines COI production, training and now also COI review.

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Highlights of our work
Reviewing COI products
During the course of ARC Foundation’s existence, we reviewed hundreds of country informationproducts published by the UK Home Office [Country Policy and Information Notes], the AustralianGovernment Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade [Country Report on Sri Lanka] and the former
European Asylum Support Office (EASO), now European Union Asylum Agency, [COI reports andQuery responses].
We thereby contributed to the improvement of the quality of country information used in deciding
refugee claims, both in the UK and beyond, and helped ensure more people who were in danger ofpersecution and other serious harm were given the protection they needed.
In addition, our commentaries on the Home Office’s Fact Finding Mission report and the AustralianGovernment Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s (DFAT) Country Report, both on Sri Lanka,
were submitted as evidence to the Upper Immigration and Asylum Tribunal, and contributed to theircritical findings of these reports in KK and RS (Sur place activities, risk) Sri Lanka (CG) [2021] UKUT
130 (IAC) (27 May 2021).
Similarly, our country information repository on prison conditions and treatment of detainees
in Ethiopia was used as evidence in the Upper Immigration and Asylum Tribunal in the Country
Guidance case of AAR (OLF – MB confirmed) Ethiopia (CG) [2022] UKUT 1 (IAC) (29 December 2021).
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Reviewing COI products
ARC Foundation’s publications over the last year, some of which were co-authored with the Dutch
Council for Refugees or Dr Christel Querton from the University of the West of England, include:

Commentary on EASO COI Queries
on the DRC, Iran and Iraq:
LGBT persons, January 2022

Commentary on the Country Policyand Information Note (CPIN) issued
on China: Muslims (incl. Uyghurs inXinjiang), December 2021

The collaboration with Dr ChristelQuerton resulted also in a blog
post on Free Movement.

Commentary on the use ofquantitative assessments todetermine risk in Country Policy
and Information Notes (CPINs)
issued by the UK Home Office,November 2021

ARC Foundation Annual Report 2021-22

Commentary on the Country Policy
and Information Note (CPIN) issued
on Sri Lanka: Religious Minorities,
December 2021

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Query on Iraq: What is the security
context and treatment of Christians
in Iraq? 22 October 2020

Highlights of our work

Reviewing COI products
ARC Foundation also undertook an ambitious comparative research project which reviewed how
the U.S. State Department assessed human rights violations in five countries under the Trumpadministration as compared with the last year of the Obama administration. This comparative
research highlighted several nuanced changes to the U.S. Department of State’s country assessments
since 2016, which could have been easily overlooked. However, when taken together these changes
have the effect of suggesting improvements in the human rights situation which our analysis
indicated is not consistent with the situation on the ground.
SUMMARY

Summary: Comparative
Analysis. U.S. Departmentof State’s Country Reports
on Human Rights Practices(2016-2020)

IRAN

PAKISTANERITREAARC Foundation Annual Report 2021-22

IRAQ

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Highlights of our work

Reviewing COI products
Thematic Review:
U.S. Department of State’s
Country Reports on HumanRights Practices (2016-2020),
September 2021

Common themes were observed in the fivereports across the years in relation to how theU.S. Department of State addressed specifichuman rights violations and how it dealt withhuman rights abuses affecting particular profiles.
These primarily related to: torture and othercruel, inhuman or degrading treatment; women,including their reproductive rights; children;
persons with disabilities; LGBTI persons; andstatelessness.

THEMATIC
REVIEW

BLOGPOST
Published jointly withthe European Network
on Statelessness,
October 2021

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David Neale
Legal Researcher at Garden Court Chambers
and ARC Foundation trustee

Prior to the Asylos and ARC Foundation report on trafficked boys and young men in Albania,
there was a gap in this area of COI, and the vulnerabilities and protection needs of trafficked
Albanian boys and young men were often ignored. Many people were wrongly refused asylum,
leading in some cases to destitution, homelessness and/or re-trafficking. Thanks to the Asylos/
ARC Foundation report, trafficking-based asylum claims by Albanian boys and young men are
now much stronger. The report has saved lives.

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Researching COI products
Strategic COI reports

In collaboration with Asylos, we published Strategic COI reports that addressed the absence of high-quality, publiclyavailable information for people claiming asylum with particular risk profiles. These reports combine relevant publicly
available material with new information generated by interviewing a range of individuals with expertise on the topic.

The Ghana report covers six research areas: the legal
context; law in practice; state attitudes and treatment;
LGBTQI+ civil society organisations; and the situation oftransgender and intersex persons. It includes interviews
carried out with nine different interlocutors ranging fromacademics, LGBTQI+ activists and NGO directors based inGhana, the UK and the US. The report’s findings fill a gap
in COI literature about the treatment of LGBTQI+ persons
fearing the state and thus contribute to a more informed
and complete picture of the situation.

The Nigeria report paints a troubling picture of thesituation for children and young people with disabilities
in Nigeria, despite the recent adoption of legislationby the State to comply with their obligations under theConvention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Sources highlight the multiple forms and layers of
discrimination, by state actors and within communities
and families, and the prevailing lack of protection oraccess to redress, that affect children and young people
with disabilities in Nigeria, severely impairing theirlives and in many cases putting them at (further) risk ofexploitation and harm.

Through consultations with legal representatives in theUK, ARC Foundation and Asylos became aware of theabsence of relevant COI about persons with disabilities
and the misconceptions about disability issues which exist
in the inter-national protection legal sector and contributeto the rejection of meritorious claims by persons withdisabilities. Together with the steering committee,including persons with lived experience, lawyers andacademics, who also assisted with the Nigeria report, wedeveloped eight research principles hoping to encourage
COI researchers, legal representatives and decisionmakers alike to take a more holistic and informed
approach to researching international protection claims
involving persons with disabilities. We believe this willlead to an improvement in the availability of good quality
COI research and better quality decision-making.

Ghana: State treatmentof LGBTQI+ persons,March 2021

Nigeria: Children andYoung People withDisabilities, October 2021

Principles for conducting
COI research on disability,
December 2021

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Highlights of our work

Researching COI products
Afghanistan COI Repository
Following the recapturing of Afghanistan by the Taliban in August 2021, we launched the emergency
initiative Afghanistan COI Repository, in partnership with Asylos and Clifford Chance and with support
from Refugee Action. This document is updated on a weekly basis by a pool of research volunteers
and contains a list of national, regional and international sources. This initiative ensures that evenwhen the situation on the ground is constantly changing, relevant, accurate and current country
information is easily accessible to asylum seekers, legal representatives and decision-makers.
Since the launch of the Afghanistan COI Repository in September
2021 and up to December 2021 there have been:• 3,990 unique page views on the Afghanistan project page• 1,637 total downloads of the Afghan COI Repository

Afghanistan COI
Repository• 50‒200 unique users per week downloading the repository• 14 volunteer researchers giving over 200 hours of their time
• 2 partnerships that developed with legal organisations in the US

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Researching COI products
Thematic Source Database

Prison Conditions in Ethiopia

In September 2021, we updated our open accessAs we continued to notice an important gap inthematic sources database which aims to support legal

highlighting conditions in detention and treatment

representatives and others undertaking COI researchof detainees, we published a COI report on prisonby making country information publicly available,

conditions in Ethiopia.

alongside a repository of COI experts.

Prison Conditions inEthiopia, February 2021

Thematic Source Database

COI Update
Throughout 2021, we continued to send out our monthly newsletter, the COI Update, to over 1,000 subscribers. This
provides an update of UK Country Guidance case law, UK Home Office publications and developments in refugee
producing countries, focusing on those nationalities which generate the most applications for asylum in the UK.
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Developing and delivering training webinars
Together with Asylos, we developed and delivered Country of Origin Information (COI) trainingwebinars which equip legal representatives and those assisting people claiming asylum conducting
COI research with tools to develop a research strategy, identify relevant sources, and develop
practical research techniques.
We also expanded our training by offering a separate child-focused COI module for those conducting
research on children and young people and a separate module focusing on disability in the context ofinternational protection claims and disability-focused country of origin information.
Between November 2019 and February 2022, we trained over 520 participants and of those whoprovided feedback (157), 97% found our webinars to be ‘excellent’ or ‘very good’, to 98% feelingmore confident in researching COI after attending our training.

COI Training Handbook

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Delivering a case-specific research service
ARC Foundation also provided a case-specific research service for individual asylum and human rights
claims, examining human rights, legal, social, political and humanitarian issues in various countries oforigin.
Since ARC Foundation’s was established, we have been commissioned to provide COI research for thefollowing Country Guidance cases:

KK and RS (Sur placeactivities, risk) Sri Lanka(CG) [2021]

ARC Foundation Annual Report 2021-22

AAR & AA (Non-ArabDarfuris – return)
Sudan [2019]

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BA (Returns to Baghdad
Iraq CG) [2017]

Highlights of our work

Partnership work
Throughout ARC Foundation’s existence we set up close partnerships and collaborated with a rangeof stakeholders to promote higher COI standards and exchange good practice on COI production andusage including through:Managing a child-focused COI working
group, based on the success of aprevious Sexual Orientation and Gender
Identity or Expression (SOGIE) COI
working group, which met with theUK Home Office Country Policy andInformation Team responsible for issuing
asylum policy guidance on particularcountries and profiles.

Creating a joint online resource platform
together with Asylos and Clifford Chance
to increase understanding of and accessto COI reports.
Whilst this work was initiated in 2020
through the assistance of Refugee
Action, this collaboration continued into
2021, attracting pro-bono support fromthe technical team at Thomson Reuters
Foundation.

Managing and maintaining our freeMembership of:members-only space, the COI Forum,
through the Austrian Centre for Country
European Asylumof Origin & Asylum Research andSupport Office’s
Documentation’s (ACCORD) ECOI.net,
Consultative Forumto exchange COI-related information,
queries and create networking
opportunities.
European Council on
Refugees and Exiles(ECRE)

It is foreseen that the COI Platform will
become operational in 2022 providinga resource for existing COI reports
published by all participating actors,
as well as a one-stop research request
service for case-specific reports.

ARC Foundation Annual Report 2021-22back

European Network on
Statelessness (ENS)

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Funders, partners and friends
Throughout ARC Foundation’s existence wehave received generous financial assistancefrom the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and theJoseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, for which
we are incredibly grateful.

We are also appreciative of the constructive
relationship and trust we’ve managed tofoster since 2016 with the Home OfficeCountry Policy and Information Teamand colleagues at the then European
Asylum Support Office (EASO).

Lastly, we are incredibly grateful to ourwonderful and supportive Board ofTrustees, Iris Teichmann for designing
our publications, and colleagues at:• Asylos• The Dutch Council for Refugees• The Austrian Centre for Country of Origin
and Asylum Research and Documentation(ACCORD)• The European Network on Statelessness(ENS)• The European Council on Refugees andExiles (ECRE)• UNHCR Geneva

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IncomeGrants
Other research service
Other services
Total£49,809£20,130£1,843£71,782£71,782

Expenditure
GrantsOther expenses
Total£74,532£2,309£76,841£76,841

Reserves
Reserves
Total£3,354£3,354£3,354

Transparency note: The remaining balance (reserves of £3,354) was used in 2022, as agreed
with the relevant funder, to enable the successful transition of key ARC Foundation projects toAsylos and to pay any outstanding administration costs associated with winding down a charity.

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ARC Foundation is a registered Charitable Incorporated
Organisation in England. Charity number 1170807.
© 2022. ARC Foundation. All rights reserved.