Analysis
The Analysis Section is composed of two specialized units: Country Information and Situation Analysis and LINGUA. The section belongs to the Asylum Procedure Directorate and is represented at the locations of Berne-Wabern.
Country Information and Situation Analysis
Is it possible to treat Type I and Type II Diabetes in Luanda? – Is there an organization called Abnaa Libya in the country of the same name? – Is there a women’s section at the Welikada prison in Sri Lanka? Daily, dozens of similar and other questions are sent to the country specialists working at «Country Information and Situation Analysis» (CI+SA). These are questions confronting our officials in the course of processing an asylum application. The information researched by CI+SA forms an essential basis for the assessment of an asylum application and also for the evaluation of the situation in the asylum seekers’ countries of origin.
CI+SA’s main task is thus to acquire and transmit information on the approximately 120 countries of origin of asylum seekers who have filed a relevant application in Switzerland. CI+SA country specialists offer research assistance and provide situation reports on the current situation in asylum seekers’ countries of origin. A further task is the analysis of identity cards and administrative documents.
If the origin of asylum seekers is unknown, the specialized LINGUA unit carried out investigations into their origin. Investigations about regions of origin, countries of origin or the social background of a person are necessary. There are numerous foreigners in Switzerland who do not submit papers proving their identity and/or origin to the authorities and whose actual country of origin is therefore uncertain. With the help of independent external experts, LINGUA can ascertain the applicant’s socialization region and record the results of the investigations in a report. LINGUA reports are based on a linguistic analysis of the language and on an analysis of the asylum seeker’s knowledge of the country and its culture.
Expert reports on a person’s place of origin can accelerate asylum proceedings. If the place of origin claimed can be confirmed, asylum seekers will receive their rightful decision more quickly and smoothly. Within the context of executing removal, experts reports on the place of origin can simplify the acquisition of the necessary substitute papers require for removal.
On 12th January, Mamadou B. reports at the office of Lingua located in the headquarter of the FOM in Bern with his Lingua summons in his hand. He follows the official into an empty office, where he waits alone for a telephone call. A short time later the telephone rings. Mamadou B. picks up the receiver. The caller greets him. Then follows a conversation in his native language. «Strange, why did I have to speak on the phone to a ‹guy› from Africa?», Mamadou B. wonders after the telephone conversation.
After this conversation, the other person, a Lingua expert from the same country of origin, writes a report. The object is to determine Mamadou B.’s actual country of origin. Based on his manner of speaking and knowledge of the country, the expert is sure that Mamadou B. can only come from Guinea. The responsible official receives the report. He now sees his own assessment made on the basis of the interview with Mamadou B. confirmed by an independent source.
The desk officer responsible for processing Ahmed H.’s asylum application compares his statements on Somalia with the information on the country at the FOM’s disposal. He comes to the conclusion that there are no serious doubts about the asylum seeker’s Somali origin.
On 15th August, Sadiye C. submits a document. An FOM employee examines this paper: it is a sentence passed by the State Security Courtin Istanbul. The sentence states that Sadiye C. has been condemned to a prison term of 3 years and 9 months on the grounds that she had given accommodation to two members of an illegal organization. An exact analysis of this evidence shows that the document is authentic.
