The Home Secretary has today in Parliament published the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration report on his Inspection of Country of Origin Information Thematic Report on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity or Expression (‘SOGIE’).
33 Bedford Row’s Head of Immigration and Public Law Dr S Chelvan was appointed in October 2019 as the Independent Reviewer on SOGIE COI reports. His approximately 400-page report, analysing 31 COI reports is found in Annex C of the report. Out of his 10 general recommendations, six were fully accepted by the Home Office, two were partially accepted and two were rejected (pages 6-7 of main report).
The Independent Chief Inspector made three additional recommendations. One out of the three recommendations were accepted by the Home Office. Included in his response, the ICI David Bolt said, publishing the report:
'The Independent Advisory Group on Country Information (IAGCI) and I are grateful to Dr Chelvan for his painstaking thematic review of the Home Office’s Country of Origin (COI) products dealing with sexual orientation and gender identity or expression covering 30 countries.
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The Home Secretary has referred to fixing the “broken” asylum system. While the production and use of COI is not broken, any review of the system must ensure that it is as good as it can be in supporting efficient and effective decision making.’
The ICI’s report (with Dr Chelvan’s report) can be accessed here.
The Home Office response is accessed by clicking here.