Part two: Proposal for a refugee documentation centre Underlag till styrelsemöte 1-2 maj 1997

PART TWO: PROPOSAL FOR A REFUGEE DOCUMENTATION CENTRE
2.0 THE GAP AND THE RESPONSE

Refugee work now represents a significant area of the movement's work. It involves different levels of the movement, ranging from research teams and the refugee team at the IS to a network of specialists (refugee coordinators) in sections. Refugee work has met with increasing interest in new and developing al-sections and structures. Various sections experience a growing need for useful background information on cases and situations involving asylum-seekers and refugees. The information needs concern not only the (political) situation and events in countries of origin, but also requests to confirm facts and names, as well as an assessment of the situation of particular groups or individuals, sometimes in a certain part of a country or a third country. General external al information, not specifically geared towards refugee work, is often perceived as insufficient to deal with these needs. Research teams at the IS are often not able, because of their heavy workload and other priorities, to deal with all the requests from section refugee coordinators. In other cases information provided to or available at one section is not distributed or accessible to others.

The proposed refugee documentation centre can be seen as a way to facilitate al's refugee work. It aims to provide access to information and documentation to allow users to make assessments of risks for refugees. Its functions are to gather, store and retrieve information according to the specific needs of its users and to make this information available to beneficiaries in the most user-friendly manner. It will also be involved in the identification and analysis of themes and trends relating to refugee work. It will not replace or duplicate work presently undertaken by the IS and/or sections, but enhance the overall effectiveness of our refugee work by providing up-to-date, factual and complete information to its user.


2.1 MISSlON STATEMENT I OVERVIEW
2.1.1 Who are the beneficiaries?

all those within Amnesty International in need of specific refugee-related information in order to make assessments on future danger to refugees 6r potential refugees could benefit

from the refugee documentation centre. In the first instance the beneficiaries are the refugee coordinators in the sections, who have for a number of years expressed the need to be provided with up-to-date refugee-specific information in a timely manner. This service is to address these needs.
But information needs are not limited to refugee coordinators in sections: they are the same for research teams and others in the IS. They, also, could benefit from the service. In addition, this service could assist those sections and structures within al, which are just starting to set up their own refugee program or plan to do so in the near future, by providing them with some basic information needed to do so.

2.1.2 How are they being benefited?

Refugee coordinators and others dealing with cases of individual refugees often need - in addition to al external documents - detailed and specific information on which to ground assessments. They should turn to the centre in order to obtain this information, which may otherwise not readily be available to them.
Often, another factor is speed. In some cases information needs are quite urgent, as interventions with the authorities need to be made within a very short time-span or individuals of concern to al are otherwise in imminent danger of being refouled or returned to another country where they would not be safe. It is hoped that the centre will be in a position to provide in urgent cases information speedily and on short notice.

2.1.3 Why will the information centre be useful?

A certain level of frustration can be sensed from both refugee coordinators in sections and IS research teams. Refugee coordinators often feel that some IS research teams are not as responsive to their (urgent) information requests as they should be and do not provide information adequate to their needs in a timely manner. IS research teams, on the other hand, often do not have this information or need further background to respond, as it is not always apparent to them why certain questions are being asked. Often, responding to refugee-related queries takes up too much of their time and creates a serious conflict with other priorities. The aim of the refugee information centre is to create the 'missing link' between research teams and refugee coordinators. Ideally, it will also mean substantial savings in resources in IS programs.

2.1.4 How will it work?

The centre is to serve as a focal point and clearinghouse for information relevant to our work with refugees. Information requests should be channeled through the centre and correspondence copied to it. The centre will proactively try to identify and address information needs and will also give immediate attention to individual queries. The centre will apply current standards of information technology in searching for, storing and retrieving information and will communicate with its users electronically as much as possible.


2.2 FUNCTIONS OF THE REFUGEE DOCUMENTATION CENTRE
2.2.1 Functions to be undertaken by the centre
2.2.1.1 Function: to gather information relevant to al's refugee work

In the age of global information systems the amount of information available is potentially unlimited. In discharging the function to gather information some criteria have to be developed and introduced early on in order to prevent the centre from assembling t90 much information in an unstructured and unsystematic manner. The most important criteria appears to be the usefulness of the information to further al's refugee work.

Useful information may be obtained from a variety of information sources within Amnesty International and outside al. The centre should therefore strive at collecting information from all those within al who produce it, be it individual research teams, the Refugee Team, sections or others (e.g. Research and Mandate Program or LIOP at the IS, EU Association in Brussels). It should also tap outside sources to provide it with information relevant to its work on an ad-hoc or regular basis and in this respect closely cooperate with other existing refugee documentation and information centres.

The question whether the information is easily accessible elsewhere may also be a guiding criteria for this function. The centre may wish to concentrate on collecting and putting together in one central place information which may otherwise not be available at all to its users or only at the cost of searching for it at different locations or approaching a number of diverse sources.

Not all of the information 'gathered' has to be integrated in the permanent collection of the centre. Part of the information collection function of the centre extends to identifying where potentially useful information is held elsewhere and whether and on which conditions it would be accessible. ("Obtain information on how to obtain information")

The types and sources of information gathered will be discussed later (see section 2.3).


2.2.1.2 Function: to provide information

The function to provide information corresponds to the function to collect information. But contrary to the collection of information, which is not limited to al-information, the provision of information will - at least initially - be limited to al: The function of the documentation centre is to provide information to all those within al who need it, be they section refugee coordinators, IS research teams, the IS refugee team or others. In principle, the centre should service all those within the movement, who approach it or were directed to it. There may be variations, though: some may have direct access ('on-line') to the information available at the centre, others may be serviced from the centre by different ~ and still others may benefit only through intermediaries, such as the section's refugee coordinator.

As the information collected by the centre is stored on a data-base, it should, in principle, be easily accessible to the users. (Access to some information deemed particularly sensitive may be restricted to some users or groups of users only, or solely for the internal use of the documentation centre.)
Users should strive for the necessary ~ to have access to data base themselves, so eventually the provision of information function by the centre will less and lees involve the actual delivering of the information (by mail, fax or e-mail) from the centre, but concentrate on offering it on the database.

The ways in which the information is provided by the centre highly depends on the needs and wishes of its users, including the different technological and other capacities (e.g. language). The packaging of the information needs to reflect the level of technology on the part of the users and strike a balance between the complexities of the issues and the level of detail of information still manageable for the users.

If the users - for lack of technology - do not have direct access to the data-base of the centre, the centre will do searches for them and provide information upon request in a manner appropriate to the user.

Questions about the packaging of information and information technology to be used will be addressed in more detail in the sections dealing with information.


2.2.1.3 Function: to draft assessments and to identify and analyze trends and issues

The centre has a key role to play in drafting assessments and identifying and analyzing trends and issues in al's refugee work. As it will be at the heart of the information aspects of this work the centre is uniquely positioned to identify questions and issues most often raised. (Current examples include the question whether there is an 'internal flight alternative' for Kurds in Turkey, whether asylum-applications may lead to political persecution upon return to certain countries, the treatment faced by deserters and draft-evaders from former Yugoslavia.)
In this area, particularly, clarity in the division of tasks and responsibilities between research teams, the refugee team and the documentation centre is essential as this function goes beyond the mere collection and distribution of existing information into analyzing and assessing situations and thereby touches upon the domain of research teams. One possible way to solve this is for the centre to identify the issues and advise research teams or others in the IS on the ~ to address them. In consultation with the relevant team the centre could also draft the paper for approval through regular procedures. This is an important additional function for the centre as it would open a way to specifically address common information needs in the area of our refugee work and thereby add some extra value to al refugee work.


2.2.2 List of functions the centre will NOT be doing

The centre will not be doing its own research into the human rights situation in countries of origin independent from IS research teams - it is not meant to be a 'parallel research structure'. It would, however, cooperate closely with research teams.
The centre will not duplicate or take over areas of al's refugee work assigned to other structures in the movement. It would not change the basic set-up 9f and division of responsibilities in al's refugee work nor would it render unnecessary the work undertaken by any of the other actors. It would, however, streamline and simplify the communication and exchange between the other actors
In other words: The IS Refugee Team would remain in charge of developing al's policy on major issues coming up in our refugee work, write policy papers and submissions, represent the movement in international fora, oversee the development of our refugee work in general and assist smaller and developing structures within al in particular.
Sections would continue to lobby their governments and legislatures on fair and efficient asylum procedures, criticize certain governmental practices which in al's view are detrimental to the protection of refugees, assess individual claims of asylum-seekers and support them in ways feasible under their national determination systems and to the extent which they have determined in line with their national priorities. (For details see Part I of this study.)
Any change, if at all, in the scope or emphasis of present refugee work or a shift in the in the
division of responsibilities between Sections and the IS would have to be determined on the
basis of the results of the review of refugee work now scheduled to start in the first quarter of 1998.



2.3 INFORMATION GATHERED INPUT/INTAKE

2.3.1 Types of information
In 1996 survey Of section refugee coordinators conducted as part of this study revealed certain patterns of information needs on the side of sections undertaking refugee work. Most often mentioned were: the composition of and positions taken by different political parties and movements and their relation to the government, the structure and organization of political movements and their leadership, the presence and treatment of religious, ethnic and other minorities in a given country.

One way to roughly divide facts relevant to refugee work is a division between general

background, facts relating to human rights violations and facts specifically relating to refugee work.


2.3.1.1 General background
General facts are often sought in order to establish the credibility of a claimant. They are sought to confirm and corroborate information contained in the claimant's statement. They

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include a wide range of issues in the fields of geography, demography, history, religion and culture.
Examples: Questions often concern the location of buildings and significant structures in a city, including but not limited to police, military or security installations, prisons or detention facilities, government offices, etc. Other possible ~ concern the composition of the population in a given part of a country, or the routes and modes of transportation the refugee claims to have used.
While reference to some of these general facts may incidentally be made in al reports, they are not normally presented in a comprehensive way, as they are not deemed of immediate relevance to the human rights situation reported on.

Other information in this category includes information on aspects of security in the country for returnees and the living conditions to be expected. This applies in particular to countries or areas of civil war or internal strife, where the civilian population, without being targeted for political reasons, may fall victim to the fighting or other hazards related to it, such as landmines or a general breakdown of law and order. Precarious living conditions may prevail even after the end of the hostilities: jobs and housing may be extremely scarce, crops may have been destroyed and there may be a general shortage of food. This situation may in particular affect certain vulnerable groups of people, such as those with no relatives to support them.
While not all of this information relates to concerns under the al refugee mandate, it is essential to determine whether conditions exist for refugees to return safely and in dignity.


2.3.1.2 Facts relating to human rights violations

For the purpose of this analysis information relating to human rights violations is not meant to be restricted to information on human rights violations, but including political background to place the human rights situation in context. Again, the 1996 survey of. section refugee coordinators revealed a need for more contextual information, more general background information and a political analysis of the country and its effect on the human rights situation, as well as an analysis of the major root causes of flight.
Facts relating to human rights violations may make up the bulk of the information gathered by the centre. Within this cluster, country of origin information, that is information on the human rights situation pertaining to refugee-producing countries, will feature prominently.

The centre should initially collect basic information in the sense of 'minimum adequate coverage' on all countries of origin. On some countries this information does not have to be much more detailed than al's annual report entries. The centre may well be the first point people turn to when confronted with a case arising from a 'new' country and the information available should satisfy those who only want to roughly familiarize themselves with the human rights situation in that country.
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The centre should then gather information on the human rights situation in major refugee producing countries. Criteria for in-depth coverage could include:
- the number and geographical spread of refugees and asylum-seekers from the country,
- the composition of the refugee population,
- the seriousness of the human rights situation in the country,
- the availability of information

The number of asylum-seekers and refugees leaving the country may be an indication of the seriousness of the human rights situation in that country, but may also be determined or influenced by other factors, such as economic and social conditions and general patterns of migration. Some countries produce large numbers of asylum-seekers (who may have valid reasons to leave the country), but only few of them would be of concern to al.

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Information relating to the human rights situation should include information on all the al concerns (e.g. imprisonment, torture, death penalty), but should not be limited to human rights violations within the al mandate. Information on other human rights issues, such as prison conditions in general and the specific treatment of women, including their treatment in the family, the community and society in general, should also be included.

The survey of refugee coordinators showed that information often wanted concerns the legislation in the country of origin (Is there a death penalty for draft evaders in the law? Is it being applied?) and the actual texts of the legal provisions are found to be helpful. The centre should therefore put particular emphasis on collecting relevant legal provisions, in particular criminal codes.


2.3.1.3 Information specifically relating to refugee work

Information specifically related to refugee work can again be roughly divided in two categories: assessments of risks for asylum-seekers and refugees in case of return and information on issues of safety and treatment of asylum-seekers and refugees in host countries and third countries.

Assessments of risks upon return

A substantial part of refugee work consists of an assessment of risks facing individuals or members of specific groups in case of forcible return. The gathering of information allowing for or containing assessments and risk evaluations is an important task for the centre. Assessments of risks can be either be made for specific individuals or for larger groups, e.g. members of a particular ethnic or religious group, affiliates of a political organization. They include assessments of the danger for family members of persecuted individuals. The assessments of situations/groups made by other bodies or institutions (such as UNHCR) should be systematically collected.

Information on the situation in certain parts of a country of origin to where governments in refugee receiving countries have stated it would be safe to send asylum-seekers back to ('internal flight alternative') also needs to be collected, as it is often difficult to assess whether members of certain groups could be considered safe in regions other than the one of their origin. Relevant countries mentioned in the survey of refugee coordinators include Turkey, Sri Lanka and India.

Information on the treatment to be expected upon return and possibly because of the flight is an important area. It includes information on the procedures and interrogation routines upon return at airports and other points of entry, the question whether legal provisions exist which make it a criminal offence to leave the country and whether these provisions are being enforced, penalties asylum-seekers may face if returned and in general information on what happens to returned asylum-seekers. ii
A most important, but difficult task would be to gather solid information on the fate of persons sent back to their country of origin or to another country, in particular case histories of refouled refugees.

Information on safety and treatment of refugees in the host country and third countries

The centre should systematically try to gather information on the national asylum laws and practices in refugee receiving countries. This includes information on the access to the country and access to the asylum determination procedure, features and elements of the asylum procedure, including the possibility of review and the question whether an appeal carries suspensive effect, basic information about the treatment of asylum-seekers during the procedure, including the question of detention, and the fate of rejected asylum-seekers.

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Information identifying deficiencies in the procedures and pointing to a lack in the protection of refugees would be particularly important.
Information on regulations and procedures, if any, or practical ways in which asylum claims are being dealt with in, for example, Central and Eastern European countries and republics on the territory of the former Soviet Union would be important, as large numbers of asylum-seekers or potential asylum-seekers transit through these countries in the hope to reach Western Europe, and countries there increasingly consider Central and Eastern European countries 'safe third countries'.

Bilateral or regional agreements between states on dealing with asylum requests would be another matter to look into. This includes agreements between different potential host countries on the responsibility for examining asylum requests as well as readmission agreements with countries of origin covering the return of non-refugees or rejected asylum-seekers.


2.3.1.4 Information on issues and concepts relating to refugee protection

Policy and position papers on issues and concepts relating to refugee protection should also be collected to some extent in order to assist the IS Refugee Team and al policy makers. While the centre would not develop al's policy on such matters, it is important to keep abreast of developments. Documents offering guidance on the interpretation of the 1951 Geneva Convention or showing recent restrictive interpretations and applications developed in state practice make up useful background information in order to formulate policy positions. Documents and studies covering new and evolving concepts, such as 'safe countries of origin', 'safe third countries', 'safe zones' or 'temporary protection' should also be included. The same is true for documents dealing with the legal framework and practical arrangements responding to situations of mass influx, mass population movements and internally displaced persons.


2.3.1.5 Important jurisprudence

Collecting national jurisprudence concerning refugees from different countries should not be a major task for the centre. If need arises, other relevant documentation centres, legal libraries or al sections could be consulted. Major developments in the interpretation of national and international refugee law as reflected in key decisions should, however, be contained in the centre's basic collection. Critical areas which come to mind include interdiction at sea and persecution by non-state actors.
also, a number of decisions and opinions rendered by international human rights courts and institutions such as the European Commission and European Court on Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights may be relevant to refugee work. The same applies it treaty monitoring bodies such as the Committee against Torture under the Convention against Torture and the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture set up by the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture.



2.3.2 Sources of information

The sources of information relevant to refugee work are manifold. In this chapter some of the more important sources of information will be examined in more detail. The list of sources is not intended to be comprehensive. Within al, sources of information include IS research teams, the refugee team and other programs, sections, in particular section refugee coordinators, and other al institutions, such as the EU Office in Brussels.

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Outside of al the following should be mentioned (in no particular order): governments, NGO's IGO's and the UN in particular, other refugee information and documentation centres, journals and the press, and the Internet.
Criteria to value the sources of information include the relevance of the information for al's refugee work, credibility/reliability of the sources and accessibility.

2.3.2.1 Amnesty International as a source of information External al documents

Amnesty International as perhaps the world's largest and most credible human rights organisation will remain the centre's most viable source of information. In fact, the centre's interrelationship with the world's largest collector and producer of human rights information is what distinguishes it from all other refugee documentation and information agencies. Amnesty International produces a range of external materials ranging from news items to briefing papers and longer reports and covering the human rights situation in all refugee producing countries. These al documents should be at the heart of the centre's collection. While most of the documents produced within al emanate from the International Secretariat some sections or others within the movement also produce refugee related documents. One case in point are the expert opinions produced by the German Section for courts in the country. Documents like these would be extremely useful sources of information as they specifically address issues and questions which came up in a refugee context. Another example are documents produced by al's European Union Association in connection with moves to "harmonize" asylum laws and procedures in Europe.

al 'internal' information

The most difficult question remaining is how and to which extent to make available to the centre information ~ IS research teams which is not published in al external documents and may not have been put on paper at all. It lies in the very nature of al's extensive research that research teams through various means collect information and material from a wide variety of sources, some of which need to be protected. The refugee documentation and information centre is not a research institute and will not undertake its own research into human rights questions independent of the IS - it therefore heavily depends on the IS, in particular individual research teams, to provide it with the information needed to service its users. It will be basically left to the good judgement of the research teams which information to place at the disposal of the centre. Information in this category most often requested by section refugee coordinators includes general background on the political situation in a country, descriptions of opposition parties and groups and their affiliations, the names and functions of leading figures in these movements and assessments of risks asylum-seekers may face on return to the country
In' addition, papers produced for the internal information for al members only, such as the Middle East Program Bulletin and the Refugee Coordinators Circular contain va~ltiable information, ~hich should be made available to the centre.
Correspondence between research teams and section refugee coordinators also constitutes an important source of information. A number of refugee-related inquiries tend to focus on similar or even identical questions which may have been answered before, albeit individually, but the question asked and the reply given may be of a wider interest. Section refugee coordinators in their work with individual asylum-seekers and refugees often come across useful information on the asylum-seekers' country of origin, which should be made available to the documentation centre in order to be accessible for IS research teams.
Finally, in the course of their work research teams are likely to obtain pieces of information from other sources which may be of direct interest to refugee work but difficult to obtain for those involved in refugee work, such as source documents i from the country of origin, reports by indigenous human rights groups or local press reports. While the bulk of this

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material would not be feasible information for the documentation centre, some.of it may well Here again, it is up to the research teams to pass relevant information on to the centre.


2.3.2.2 Other information sources

Basic reference material

Basic reference materials (books, handbooks, encyclopedias, maps) may provide the first answer to a question. although they normally contain little, if any human rights information they are reliable sources for general facts and figures and may also contain information on political background.

UN documents

UN documents are a vast and highly authoritative source of information. Most of the documents of interest in the context of human rights and refugees are those emanating from UNHCR and the Commission on Human Rights.
UNHCR as the principle UN agency dealing with refugees is a key source of information. Documents of interest include EXCOM-Conclusions, guidelines, meeting reports, policy and position papers, including those from different branch offices, as well as fact sheets, background papers on different countries and groups and assessments of different situations.
Documentsiof the Commission on Human Rights are also relevant, in particular the reports submitted by Special Rapporteurs and Working Groups on different countries and themes, Occasionally, specific others documents such as resolutions of the General Assembly or the Security Council and documents from other UN institutions (CEDAW, UNICEF. UNDP) may also be of interest.

Governments, govern men~al iris UtuiUons. inter-governmental fora

Governments around the world analyse and sometimes report Qn human rights and refugee situations. Not all of these report are publicly available or otherwise accessible and they are of different quality. Most useful in the context of refugee work are reports and papers originating from the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, as they seem to be based on a variety of sources and often state their sources. Other reports, such as the country assessments undertaken by seyeral European governments and CIREA, seem to be more representative of the views of the respective government(s).

NGO's
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i In the evolving iworid of NGO's there are a number of groups and organizations both in the field of refugees and human rights which havei established themselves as higr'-quality sources. (There are only very few, though, which combine both human rights and refugees in their ~andate.)
National refugee councils or other similar umbrella organizations working for asylum-seekers and refugees are in existence in most European countries and North America. They normally represent an excellent source of information, not only on issues relating to the respective host country but also for country of origin information. Some refugee councils have even set up their own refugee information and documentation systems or centres (dealt with in more detail later). There is at least one international umbrella organisaUon, the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE). which, while concentrating its activities on lobbying the European level, also runs a documentation service.
International human rights groups, such as Human Rights Watch, Helsinki Committee, etc., regularly provide reliable and up-to-date human rights information in their reports. Other

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igri~~p5 with a more focused mandate, such asthe Anti-Slavery-Society or Article 19, are also good sources on the more specific issues covered in their reports.
National human rights organizations in countries of orgin are a more difficult, but at times very useful source for information. While they are often positioned closer to the events, their ability to gather information may be hampered by other factors, such as lack of funds and resources and government interference with their work. They often have a very broad or even blurred mandate, a lack of organizational stability or political objectivity. The value of individual national human rights groups as a source for continuous and reliable information has to be established on a case by case basis by IS research teams and the centre's information specialists.
Accessibility to these centres varies and depends on a number of factors.

Journals and press

Journals and the press in general represent a traditional mode of information, but here, clearly, strict limitations based on a set of criteria will have to be applied. Monitoring the world's press including iwire services would be an impossible task for the centre and would still not provide a complete picture in the specific rubrics of human rights and refugees. It would also involve a duplication of work as press monitoring is done in the IS. The centre should therefore initially restrict itself in this area to a few publications dealing with refugee matters (such as the Refugee Survey Quarterly and the International Journal of Refugee Law) and a limited selection of other journals. Criteria for selection should be developed upon recommendations made by research teams and the Research Standards & Mi~ho~~I~gy Adviser in the Research & Mandate Program and include the electronic
availability of the publication. i i

Other documentation and information centres
Other documentation aind information centres should be looked at not only as sources for
ii information but also as partners operating in the same field. The relationship between the al
i i i rcf~g~~i documentatidhi ii cii eiii ntre and other information centreisiiwiill~beiii explored mi more detail

in section F. of this study~ Ideally, there should be ongoing broad cooperation and exchange, but in practice, access to each other's data bases may nevertheless be restricted f6r reasons of confidentiality or other considerations, or hampered by factors such as user-fees or incompatibility of information technology systems.
Within the range of refugee documentation centres around the world UNHCR's Centre for Documentation and Research (C DR) based in Geneva is probably the most well-placed instituation with the most comprehensive collection of information relating to refugees. CDR publishes the Refugee Survey Quarterly and produced the REFWORLD CD-ROM containing a vast array of extremely useful information.
There are numerous other, mostly national, information and documentation centres in the fi~Id of refugees and even more so in the broader field of human rights. Those operating in the ~ field tenduto be part of or affiliated with either national refugee councils, government institutions or universities.ii Examples in the first category include the documentation units at the British, Danish and Dutch refugee councils and the (British) Refugee Legal Centre, governmental institutions include the Documentation, Information and Research Branch of the Immigration and Refugee Board (Canada), the Dutch Ministry of Justice, the German Federal Office for the Recognition of Foreign Refugees and the Federal Office for Refugees of Switzerland, ithe third category includes the Refugee Studies Programs at Oxford University and York University, Toronto.

Internet and other on-line services

The Internet is presently the most comprehensive and fastest growing world-wide information system. The fact that information provided by a number of the sources mentioned earlier in this chapter is now available on the Internet makes it an extremely valuable source by itself. In addition, though, potentially unlimited pieces of information
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emanating from an enormous variety of information producers feature on the Internet and other on-line services. The problem here is both one of quantity and quality.



2.3.3 Quality of informat~on

The question of the quality of information relates foremost to non-al information. (al external documents are produced to the highest standards of quality, while aspects of how to deal with al 'internal' information are raised in the chapter on confidentiality. also, standards and approvals systems for information produced by the centre itself will be addressed separately.)
Aspects of quality do not feature prominently when looking at UN documents or reports produced by respected international human rights organisation.They are more relevant to other sources of information: Information originating from governments is often tainted by diplomatic icaution or political considerations, but this would often be apparent to the user. It is much more difficult to assess the quality of information from indigenous NGO's, which sometimes tend to be affiliates of or front-groups for political movements. Advice and guidance from research teams is needed on the reliability of sources and the standards of information.
The purpose of quality control is not so much to find out whether the content of the information supports al's own findings, but to exclude information clearly false or misleading or stemming from a source al would consider generally unreliable. Information which departs from or even contradicts al's findings may nevertheless be included as long as it is
researched and produced tQ acceptable standards. i i


2.3.4 Confidentiality of information

The important issue ofconfidentiality and security in the first instance relates to al- i i i generated information only. (Different questions may be raised regarding classified or otherwise not publicly available information originating from other sources, such as country situation assessments prepared by foreign ministries, documents for inter-governmental discussion fora, or draft policy statements, etc.).
al's standards for the responsible handling of information apply as well to the centre and its users. It is important to stress that the centre is meant to be an al-internal operation and all of its direct users will be part of the global al-movement. Nevertheless, it has to be assured that the centre has control over which users will be given access to its information and a policy covering this question has to be agreed. In addition, all users should constantly be reminded that the information provided by the centre will normally be 'internal' information for the ir use only and not to be disseminated outside al. The information could therefore be i marked i~internal ifor al members only', if iapplicable. i i i i i
On the other hand, a number of section refugee coordinators have gained som~ experience with 'transforming' and thereby at least partly making accessible to outsiders al-internal information, such as information contained in the Refugee Coordinators Circular. And at the IS both research teams and the Refugee Team have developed ways to make available this kind of information without compromising al by, for example, introducing into circular6 what corresponds to the research team's opinion only in italics. There are also always within al regular mailings with a limited distribution to people considered particularly trustworthy an~ who need to know, be it country coordinators, campaign coordinators or refugee coordinators. Examples include the Action Planning Bulletin and the Middle East Program Bulletin.
It will be vital for the centre to gain the trust of its information providers, in particular the research teams. They should feel comfortable to pass on to the centre information of a nature they would not wish to be publicly associated with. One option to ensure that the centre does receive this kind of information could be to classify certain pieces of information

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as 'confidential' ot only to be used by the centre itself (as background) ibut~not to be transmitted in full or made directly accessible by the centre to its users.



2.3.5 Language(s)

An information service covering situations around the world and involving a potentially global network of users has to be acutely aware of the language factor. It will not be in a position to gather and provide information in even only a few of the main languages. For practical purposes the basic working language of the centre will be English, with some flexibility, when feasible.
Most, if not all, al external documents produced by the International Secretariat will be available in English. Some will only be available in English, but a number of them will additionally be available in other languages as well. When quoting from al external ddcuments or bringing them to the attention of users, the centre will take into account the language background of the particular user and may refer the user to the French or Spanish version of the document, if available.

Documents emanating from external sources, in particular other international human rights groups, UN institutions or inter-governmental fora, also tend to be available in English and often in English only. This is also true for a number of journals, in particular those with an international distribution, and other sources of information.

However, other important pieces of information will only be available in one of the lang uages of the particular country. This is the daily experience of the different research teams in the IS, and they have developed expertise to deal with this fact. Occasionally, important source documents will be translated at the IS, often not as much for the sake of the research team, which may very well feelicomfortable:with the document in the original I apguage, but for purpose~s of wider circulation or publication. This kind of idocument (e.g. a government ordinance) ~ai~slated intb English could be made available by the centre.

In refugee work al documents often do not emanate from the IS but from individual seictions. They will then be written in the working language of the section. These documents may consist of an analysis of the legal basis for refugee protection in the section's country, information packaged to address recurrent queries regarding main groups of asylum-seekers and refugees in the country or expert opinions issued by the section on specific questions. It would be important for the centre to at least collect these documents (even if they are in German or Dutch). The centre could also direct users to these documents, if there are indications that the particular user will be able to work in or at least have a basic understanding of the given language.

~eiga~ texts, such as relevant laws and regulations of a country, and legal decisions will most often ibe~availabIe only in the original language: Here it may help to look foir and identify other institutions. such as governments, the UN, etc., who may have done a translation at least of relevant parts of the document, if only for their own purposes.

The centre itself is not expected to be in a position to translate documents, as translation is ~ time-consuming and expensive. The translation or 'transformation' of documents provided by the centre has to be d~ne by the recipients. In fact, they will often have to do so, in particular if they themselves wish to make available the information to lawyers, courts or government institutions in their country,i as the information may often have to be submitted in the language of that country.

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2.3.6 Information technology

Ideally, every relevant document originating from within al should be made available to the centre electronically and stored on a data base. The centre should therefore be fully integrated in al's international electronic communication and information systems. This could be greatly facilitated by the adoption of the use of groupware computer software movement-wide. As stated in the al Groupware Report (DOC 23/03/96) dated I August 1996, the movement should standardize on the use of one particular groupware package. The report recommends that Lotus Notes should be adopted as the groupware standard for the IS, IS deconcentrated offices, decentralized units and other offices and post holders in the international movement. Sections should also be encouraged to standardize on the use of Lotus Notes software but will not be obliged to do so. For the centre this would mean that it would from the outset operate on a high information technology standard with al-standardized software and be fully integrated in al's international electronic communication and information systems. The groupware system would also enable the documentation centre to have access to information contained in e-mail messages written by IS-staff and others within the movement. Thereby important information could be made available to a wider range of potential users subject, of course, to considerations of confidentiality and security
Information originating from sources outside al may increasingly also be available electronically and efforts should be made to receive information from regular sources electronically. Some pieces of information (e.g. government documents, legal texts, press items) may, however, not be electronically available to al. They should nevertheless be stored on a ~ata base ith rough the use of appropriate technology (scanner).
In general terms: the higher the proportion of inf9rmation received electronically, the better.



2.4 PROCESSING OF INFORMATIQN I PACKAGlNG OF INFORMATION

Acceptance of the centre by its users will h~i~~iIy depend on the extent to which the centre is able to reflect and address the specific information needs of its users in an efficient way. A correct assessment of the needs and demands of the users coupled with their technological and other capacities provides the key to its success. Presenting the information in the best way possible will not be an easy task, given the range of users, their different interests and priorities and different levels of technology
Some users may only or primarily be interested in information regarding a certain country or region; this may apply to research teams dealing with refugee flows into neighboring countries or section refugee coordinators in countries receiving asylum-seekers and refugees primarily from only one region in the world, e.g. Latin America. For most users, however, the spectrum of information needed and the countries of origin covered will be much broader and at times cover almost every part of the world.
Someii users imay:be quite advanced un information and communication technoI~gy, including direct access to al's electronic informationi service systems and other external Systems such as the Internet, while for other users the non-reliability of phone and fax lines and even the mail service present serious problems and obstacles.
A clear impression of the needs of the users is essential in order to package the information in the best possible way.

Users should try to have direct access to the database of the refugee documentation centre themselves. Access will only be granted with the agreement of the centre and access to some documents considered confidential or otherwise classified could be restricted. The database should be arranged in such a way that even new or inexperienced users with little prior knowledge of information systems can easily search themselves for the information needed. Users should be able to search for specific names, facts or dates across the database, no matter who the source or originator of the document is, and they should also

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b'e, able to search for 'specific documents' and idownload them on their own computer 5yi5~~~

There are many reasons for this emphasis on direct access to information: The intermediate step of phrasing specific questions to the documentation centre or providing it with details of the case or issue at question is eliminated - and so is a possible source for misunderstandings.The search can be done at any time at the convenience of the user and is not restricted to weekdays and office hours. It will produce immediate results without any significant delays. The users themselves can determine - even in the course of the actual search - the amount of information they wish to revuew or receive, the sources of information and the period covered. Direct access by the person in need of information to the system is most likely to produce optimal results.

Users should also be encouraged to establish their own access to the Internet. Only in cases where this is not possible should the centre be acting as an intermediary, providing to its users information available on the Internet.

For those who cannot directly connect to the database of the centre, the centre will do searches for them upon request. This will include running checks on documents and trying to locate names and facts (dates, places, events, etc.). The key to a successful search lies in the framing of the question. It would therefore be important for the user to frame the question as specific as possible and to attach to the request for information all the background needed (but not more) to put the question into context.

Sometimes information is needed within very short time to prepare for immediate interventions with the authorities for individuals in imminent danger of being refouled or returned to another country where they would not be safe. In urgent cases the centre should attempt to respond to specific requests within the shortest time possible. It would help the centre in asse'ssing the urgency of a~,p'a~icular request, if those requesting the information would indicate wi h the request how soon the infiormation would be needed.

In addition to providing answers to specific requests for information the centre should proactively try to identify and address issues and areas of concern to its users. This could taike the form of an (electronic) bulletin featuring the latest information available and providing, in consultation with research teams and the Refugee Team, circular responses to questions commonly asked. Models for such a bulletin include the Middle East Program Bulletin, the monthly Rufugee Bulletin produced by the British Section and the Refugee Coordinators Circulars.

The documentation and information centre could also produce its own papers on subjects of particular interest in the field of refugee work. The papers may include regular updates on
i it~e~ituation in major refugee-producing countries or address specific questions not ' i 6therwis'e covered by al's research, such as whether a given country may be c,or~"sidered a 'safe third country' for 'refugees. These papers could either be included in regular bulletins from the centre or take the form of separate 'fact sheets'. Papers should be produced in collaboration and coordination with relevant IS teams. They should be considered 'internal' unless otherwise agreed.

In addition, the centre may have an educational / training role in that it draws the attention of its users to external sources of information and helps them in getting access to this information electronically (Internet, UNHCR REFWORLD CD-ROM). The centre should guide its users through the Internet by watching, tracing and evaluating new sources appearing there and making suggestions for their use.
The centre should route enquiries which it may not be able to answer competently to other information / documentation centres better positioned to do so.
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Finally, the centre should develop a system to regularly monitor the use of the services offered in order to ensure that it works according to the needs and wishes of its users.

Questions of processing and packaging of information and developing of products should be addressed in close cooperation with the IS Information Resources Program and Information Technology Program.



2.5 INFORMATION PROVIDED (OUTPUT)

In general terms, information provided should be information that puts recipients in a better position to make assessments of risks for refugees. This could be general background information or information relating to specific claims.

The survey of refugee coordinators revealed that refugee coordinators in addition to background information often ask the IS for verification and confirmation of information given by individual asylum-seekers, e.g. specific events / circumstances alleged by the asylum-seeker. They ask whether a specific person or details of a case are known and whether there is additional information. They are looking for confirmation of names and affiliations of individuals as well as confirmation of (general) facts, such as dates. events and places, and human rights facts (detention, arrests, killings).
The refugee documentation centre should provide the basis to answer these questions, on the understanding that in a number of cases it may not be able to do so. Often names of individuals will not be available and it will npt be possible to verify dates and events. This, of course, should not be taken to mean that an individual may not be in danger or an event may not have taken place.

In principle; the whole spectrum of information gathered should be made available and provided by the centre to its users. The centre should therefore make available to its users al external documents, although these could also be obtained from the siec~on. It should also distribute al internal information specifically tailored to the needs in refugee work. Information from other sources, such as the UN, governments, NGO's, other documentation centres and journals, and described in more detail in the chapter on information gathered, should also be made available.

Information provided will normally be in English as the working language of the centre, but in responding to individual requests the centre will take into account the language background of the particular user and may provide information in other languages. if available.

An important element of the output of the centre~will consist of papers written by the centre addr:essinig. releviant issues in refugee work. Issues covered could include the ~yailability or non~availability.ofiani~internal flight alternative', e.g. for Kurdish refugees from turkey in other parts of Turkey or Tamils in~certain parts of Sri Lanka, or the emergence of de facto authorities in civil war countries. Because the concept of 'safe third countries' seems to become more and more important in international refugee policy, the centre should provide information on the protection of refugees in third countries and in particular on those countries' asylum procedures, if any. Central and Eastern Eur~pean countries have been mentioned in this regard, but other examples include Turkey and Syria as countries of first asylum.

It has also been asked whether the centre should provide to its users - in addition to documentation and information - assessments and advice on its own. The distinction between these two areas may not always be easy to define. Neither is the answer to the question.
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What do we mean by 'assessments'? Within al's refugee work the term is appplied differently. It is used to describe the process of identifying individual cases of asylum-seekers of concern to al ('assessment of a case'). It is also - and perhaps more commonly -used in connection with the prognosis of future risks for an individual in case of return, but also used in describing al's position regarding the risks for certain groups of persons ('assessment of risks'). The first instance, that is a decision on whether an individual case falls under al's mandate concerns, in refugee work is a decision taken by the section. (Sections will only actively support a case once they have taken that decision.) The assessment of future risks for an individual is also left to the section, but often based on information provided by the IS (or in the future the refugee documentation centre.) More general assessments of certain groups or situations should either be made by the IS or based on information provided by the IS and produced in consultation with the IS. The latter is something the information centre could possibly do.
The question whether the centre should offer advice similarly is a complex one. There are several areas on which advice could be sought. Apart from the human rights situation in countries of origin this could include questions relating to al' 5 mandate and policy in general or its refugee mandate in particular, or issues relating to the application of national and international refugee law and instruments. In all of these cases close cooperation between the centre and relevant IS programs is needed. The ground-rules for the division of responsibility could be whether the question can be answered referring to existing al policy documents or based on established policy. This could then be done by the centre. The situation would be different, if the question involves a 'new' policy issue, that is one which has not been sufficiently clarified by al. (A recent example may be our position regarding IDP's). As far as mandate questions are cbncerned, the same division would apply: If the question can be addressed under existing mandate and policy guidelines, the centre should try do do so. Otherwise it should refer the issues to R&M P. An example of a question clarified in principle is the one of al's concerns relating to abuses by NGE's, while our policy on certain issues in armed conflict, such as forcible conscription, on the other hand has not been sufficiently settled.



2.6 USERS AND PROVIDERS

2.6.1 External users

At least initially the documentation centre will not make its information accessible externally (that is beyond al) nor respond directly to external requests for information. On the information technology side, though, the possibility for future external access will be built in from the outset. Therei. are a number of reasons for this confinement in the initial stage; including aspects of protection and confidentiality of information, the workload for the centre iahdi thei division of responsibility in al's refugee work. i i i

2.6.1.1 Protection and confidentiality of information

It has been discussed in the chapter on information gathered that al 'internal' information, that is information provided mostly by al research teams and not meant for external circulation, will be at the heart of the centre's collection. al's research teams and others within the movement in a position~to provide the centre with this much needed information will only be willing to do so, if they feel assured that the information will only be used for the purposes it is provided for, that is to enable those involved in al's refugee work to assess risks for refugees, and not be spread externally. The best and clearest way to ensure this is to limit access to the information stored by the centre to al staff and members. It is essential for the centre to establish and maintain a relationship based on trust and confidence with the providers of information, in particular the research teams. This would preclude a direct access to the. database by potential external users, but would not neccessarily prevent the centre from servicing external clients with non-restricted material available at the centre,
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either in response to requests or on its own. initiative. It may even be advisable to offer at least to other documentation centres some information from the centre on a basis of cooperation and exchange to be agreed (see section 2.6.3 on cooperation with other documentation centres).

2.6.1.2 Priorities, workload and identity of the centre

Every effort has to be made to ensure that the centre will undertake its work in accordance with established priorities. Opening up the centre to external users could seriously undermine these priorities and would pose the problem that the centre could be swamped with external requests for information. The majority of those potentially interested in using the services of the centre would not likely be in a position to have direct access to the centre's database. The range of potential clients would include lawyers, refugee councils and NGO's from a large number of countries, students and other individuals with no institutional affiliation, the press, and refugees and asylum-seekers themselves.

External clients pose additional problems in that they can be very demanding, while on the other hand they may have an inaccurate picture of al's mandate and working methods and a lack of understanding of the functions and purpose of the documentation centre. Often they may even have no clear idea of the kind of information they would be looking for.

Opening up the documentation centre to a wide range of diverse potential users would seriously undercut the institutional identity of the centre, which needs to be protected and preserved. A blurred identity could easily transform the centre from a valuable service instituation within al to just another of the many information centres around.

2.6.1.3Costs and charges

al only has limited resources which need to be put to use in the most effective way. Servicing a random selection of outsiders with information free of charge would seriously violate that principle. Under~resource aspects providing information~ externally could only be justified if the service would not only be able to recover costs incurred but also produce some revenue. This would imply the need to design and enforce a complicated international subscription system or a laborious system of billing clients small amounts of money and the risk that not all of the bills will be settled. The transfer of money across borders in any case is still complicated, time-consuming and expensive, and in some cases impossible.. due to legal or practical restrictions. Further problems could be posed by tax regulations.

2.6.1.4 Division of responsibility in al's refugee work

Most of al's refugee work is devolved to sections. Providing (al) information to individuals
and insitituUQnsi in countries with established sections is part of that wQrk. In fact, the survey df refugee coordinators confirmed that most sections with an established refugee, program do service to different degrees asylum-seekers a nd.i refugees, lawyers, non-al ~fugee support groups, asylum adjudicators and status determination agencies, appeal or review boards and courts, and the government or government officials, either on their own initiative, upon request or both. Some sections have even set up systems to regularly provide external al information relevant to refugee work to individuals and institutiofls. For a number of reasons sections are much better positioned to do so than an international centre could ever be. They may have a better understanding of the background leading to specific requests, may be able to meet requests in the national language and can use their own judgement on whether to charge.for the information or provide it free of charge. The provision of information may also be an important element in maintaining and strengthening their relationship with other NGO's and governmental institutions and may help in establishing al as a major player in the context of national refugee work.
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Servicing external clients directly from the centre could not add anything substantial~on the positive side, but could lead to duplication of work and confusion of roles and responsibilities.
Servicing external clients indirectly through sections on the other hand does not pose these problems. Sections could use information provided by the centre for this purpose (within the limits imposed by possible classifications of information) and even ask the centre upon an external request for a particular piece of information they may not have themselves. Thereby the responsibility for dealing with external requests, including the responsible handling of information, would remain with the respective section.


2.6.2 Users and providers from within al

2.6.2.1 General approach

Ideally, all those from within al approaching the centre as 'users' could also be 'providers' of information and vice versa. While section refugee coordinators may prevail as 'users' they may also become 'providers9 of information, e.g. regarding their country's domestic legislation and procedure for obtaining refugee status or information received from asylum-seekers and refugees. IS research teams may essentially be information 'providers' but may at times have the same information needs as refugee coordinators, e.g. regarding the situation of refugees in a certain country. It is important that the centre is seen as part of a network of players, who participate in different capacities at different times, and that all those involved understand that it can only work that way

2.6.2.2 Who would the centre service?

There are different forms of 'service': Direct access to the database is the least labour-intensive and most complete form of 'service', other forms include the production and distribution of bulletins and responding to individual requests.
-It is expected that ~S research teams will have direct access to the database of the centre. Sections should also attempt to have access to the database themselves. This could considerably reduce the number of individual requests made to the centre while making the full range of information available to key users or potential users.
Section status would not be a precondition to use the services of the centre nor would extensive prior experience in al refugee work. There are, in princple, no limitations imposed as to services extended to small or developing structures, but there may well be some limitations regarding the number of people serviced in larger sections. In sections with regional or local structures involved in refugee work, it would for example not be possible to directly service a largerinumber of groups or structures within one section. In these cases, the best solution might be to have one focal point or office in the section to relate to the centre through which requests for information will be.channelled. This could beithe refugee coordinator in the section or another designated person. As the centre needs to, protect its vital relationship with IS research teams as main providers of information, the ce'ntre must be in the position to control access to its database.
Additional support should be extended from the centre to smaller and developing al sections and structures, in particular those wishing to start a refugee program. In collaboration with relevant IS programs, this support could take the form of advice and training in setting up information systems as well as the provision of useful background information for starting systematic refugee work.

2.6.2.3 Relationship between users and providers and with the centre

The centre should be the information link between the different actors in al's refugee work. It should develop into a focal point and clearing house for refugee-related information, to which all those involved in this work would find it logical to turn to first.

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Foremost the centre should try to establish a system to ensure that information gathered by refugee coordinators from asylum-seekers and useful for al research continues to reach IS research teams. It should in the future be sufficient for refugee coordinators to transmit this information to the documentation centre only, which in turn would forward it to others. Communication on issues falling within the centre's tasks between refugee coordinators or others wishing the exchange experiences or raise common problems should also be channelled through the documentation centre. Areas of common concern could relate to 'new' refugee flows or experiences regarding certain practices in different host countries. While direct correspondence between refugee coordinators and the IS may still occur, all routine questions relating to information should in the first instance be directed to the centre. also, copies of relevant correspondence between IS teams and refugee coordinators should be made available to the documentation centre, as this correspondence may well address problems faced by others, as well, or contain information of a more general interest.
Refugee-related enquiries from sections received at the IS would normally be referred to the centre for response. This would initially apply at least to those queries which can be answered on the basis of existing al (external or internal) information. This would gradually be expanded with the build-up of information and expertise at the centre. Once such a system of referal is established and working properly this would mean substantial savings of scarce resources for some IS teams.
The documentation centre, on the other hand, would at least initially refer external (non-al) requests it may receive to the relevant section and in case there is none, to the IS. This policy would particularly apply to requests for al-support in a particular case, but also to requests for further information.


2.6.3 Cooperation with other relevant information and documentation centres

As other information and documentation centr~s in the field of refugees and human rights are eixpected to be major contributors to the information gathered at the centre, they can and should not be compileteii~ly exctuded as beneficiaries on thei.. us eir~side. Cooperation involves a give and take on both sides. While formal arrangements with different institutions may need to be developed, they cannot substitute for a spirit of mutual trust and cooperation.
A good part of the initial basis for the permanent collection of the centre could be taken from the databases of already existing information centres and with some of them a system of regular direct exchange of information could be arranged.
Wider forms of cooperation with other documentation centres include the exchange of information about and experience with new sources, the assessment of their value and reliability, etc. Another field of common interest concerns information technology, and in particular evolving methods and systems for storage and retrieval of information and
electronic communication.
Countacts established and experiences made by the IS Information Resources Program and the Information Technology Program should be heipful in assessing the value o~ a cooperation with other institutions in the field and form the basis for a future relationship.



2.7 SUMMARY PART TWO

It is recommended that within al a refugee information and documentation centre will be set up with the aim to provide access to information and documentation to allow its users to make assessments of risks for refugees.
The functions of the centre will be to gather, store and retrieve information and to make this information available in the most user-friendly manner. It will also be involved in the identification and analysis of themes and trends relating to refugee work. It will not replace or duplicate work presently undertaken by the IS and/or sections, but enhance the overall

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effectiveness of our refugee work by providing up-to-date1 factual and complete information to its users.
The centre will gather country of origin information in the form of general background material and facts relating to human rights violations, including the text of legal provisions. It will also collect information specifically relating to refugee work, including assessments of risks upon return and information on issues of safety and treatment of asylum-seekers and refugees in host countries and third countries. In addition1 the centre will gather information on issues and concepts relating to refugee protection and some important jurisprudence. Not all of this information has to be integrated in the permanent collection of the centre; part of the information collection function of the centre extends to obtain information on where and how useful information could be obtained from other information centres. Information will be obtained from both al and external sources. It will comprise al external documents and al internal information. Sources of external information include the United Nations and in particular UNHCR, governments and NGO's, other documentation and information centres, journals and the press, as well as the Internet and other on-line services.
Some form of quality control needs to be installed in relation to information originating from external sources and the issue of confidentiality of some al-generated information needs to be addressed.
The principal working language of the documentation centre will be English, with some flexibility. While it is expected that the majority of documents gathered and provided will be in English, some documents may be available in other languages.
Most documents will hopefully be transmitted to the centre electronically and all documents should be stored on a database.
The centre should try to reflect and address the specific information needs of its users in an efficient way. A clear impression of the needs and capacities of the users is essential in order to package the information in the best possible way. Emphasis should be put on direct access to the database, but the centre will also respond to individual ~~q~i~5t5 for information, and try to ii~~ntify information needs and address them proactively in the form of (electrionic) bulletins and other means.
In principle, all the information gathered by the centre should be made available and provided to its users. This would include al external documents, al internal information and information from other sources. An important aspect of the centre's work would involve attempts to verify and confirm information i given by asylum-seekers on specific names, dates, events and circumstances. The centre could produce in collaboration and coordination with relevant IS teams its own papers on subjects of particular interest in the field of refugee work, including questions not otherwise covered by al's research. To some extent and in close cooperation with relevant IS teams the centre will draft assessments of risks to refugees and to a lesser extent advice on mandate and policy questions, if the questions can be answered based on established policy.
At least initially the documentaion centre will not make its information accessible externally i ~ respond directly to exte~aIireque5t5 Reasons for thiS policy include i aspects of protection and confidentiality of information, the priorities, workload e~d identity of the centre and the division of responsibility in al's refugee work.
Ideally, all those within al approaching the centre as users could also be providers of information and vice versa; IS research teams and section refugee coordinators will be both users and providers. It is important that the documentation centre is seen as a network of players, who participate in different capacities at different times. Section status or extensive prior experience in refugee work are, in principle, not preconditions to use the services of the centre.
The centre should be the information link between the different actors in al's refugee work. It should develop into the focal point and clearing house for refugee-related information and communication. A system of cooperation and exchange of information and experiences should be developed with other information and documentation centres in the field of refugees and human rights.