Verfassungsblog (May 2024)

Nigeria as a Safe Country of Origin? - On the Production and (Mis)Use of Country of Origin Information

  • Agostina Pirrello

DOI
https://doi.org/10.59704/734796ab34a73b48
Journal volume & issue
no. 2366-7044

Abstract

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On May 7th 2024 Italy updated its list of safe countries of origin (SCO) for the second time after the introduction of the notion in the national legal system in 2019. Notably, the latest update retained the most contentious addition to the list from last year, Nigeria. Until then, only Cyprus considered Nigeria as generally safe. The legal issues underlying this designation illustrate how country of origin information (COI), largely provided to Member States by the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA), is (mis)used to produce policy-based evidence rather than evidence-based policies.

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