AIDA - Asylum Information Database

AIDA - Asylum Information Database Contract Title Asylum Information Database II - AIDA II Funding Period 1 Jan 2014 - 31 Dec 2015 Funding Agency ECRE-European Council on Refugees and Exiles Total Cost €5,000

Overall view of the project

The Humanitarian Affairs Unit of Future Worlds Center contributes to the project of AIDA by writing an annual detailed report on Cyprus' asylum practice and conditions. The latest updated report (February 2015) can be found here: http://www.asylumineurope.org/reports/country/cyprus

The AIDA project is jointly coordinated by the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE), Forum Réfugiés-Cosi, Irish Refugee Council and the Hungarian Helsinki Committee. It aims to provide up-to date information on asylum practice in 16 EU Member States (AT, BE, BG, CY, CR, DE, FR, GR, HU, IE, IT, MT, NL, PL, SE, UK) which is easily accessible to the media, researchers, advocates, legal practitioners and the general public through the dedicated website http://www.asylumineurope.org . Furthermore the project seeks to promote the implementation and transposition of EU asylum legislation reflecting the highest possible standards of protection in line with international refugee and human rights law and based on best practice.

Project Objectives

The overall goal of the project is to contribute to the improvement of asylum policies and practices in Europe and the situation of asylum seekers by providing all relevant actors with appropriate tools and information to support their advocacy and litigation efforts, both at the national and European level.

The project aims to do so by providing independent and up-to date information to the media, researchers, advocates, legal practitioners and the public on asylum practice in EU Member States, in particular with regard to asylum procedures, reception conditions and detention.

It also aims to provide advocacy tools to the civil society, at EU and national level as regards the transposition of EU asylum directives adopted as part of the second phase of harmonisation of EU asylum policy and the establishment of a Common European Asylum System.

Finally, the project intends to raise public awareness on the situation of asylum seekers, with a view to nurturing a more receptive political environment on the issue of asylum and migration.

Sources and field research

All information provided in the report on detention conditions are based on monitoring visits carried out by Future Worlds Center in March 2014, for the submission of comments to the Committee against Torture pending their visit in April 2014 and for the purpose of drafting the report for the AIDA website, on monitoring visits carried out in January 2015 as well as based on information collected during the weekly visits to the centre for the representation of individual cases by Future Worlds Center.