Hungarian Helsinki Committee publishes second volume offering a creative, multidisciplinary learning method on credibility assessment
The Hungarian Helsinki Committee published the second volume of its training manual on credibility assessment in asylum procedures on Monday.
The manual has been drafted in close cooperation with the UNHCR and offers hands-on training on the linguistic and gender-related challenges of credibility assessment, as well as a specific focus on credibility assessment with children and in asylum cases based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
You can download the 118-page manual here.
The manual says it aims to fill an important gap by offering a creative, multidisciplinary learning method on credibility assessment, tailored to the needs of asylum decision-makers and other asylum professionals.
It states: "This manual does not offer magic tricks, techniques or solutions to overcome the serious challenges of credibility assessment – simply because no such tricks exist. What we offer is a framework for developing knowledge, skills and attitude through multidisciplinary learning, which can help asylum professionals to reduce the possibility of errors, reach more objective and fair credibility findings, as well as to apply a more structured approach to credibility assessment."
Rather than being an academic publication, it "strives to offer an easily digestible, concise – yet valuable – summary of what decision-makers and other asylum professionals need to know about the key issues related to credibility assessment."
While the manual's four chapters are EU-focused, its intended use is not necessarily limited to Europe.
Asylum Aid's Debora Singer authored the chapter on gender and credibility assessment, while No5 Chambers barrister S Chelvan authored the chapter on asylum claims based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
The chapter on credibility assessment with children was authored by Zoe Given-Wilson of the Centre for the Study of Emotion and Law.
The Hungarian Helsinki Committee's Gábor Gyulai authored the chapter on assessing credibility in a multilingual context.
The first volume of the manual – published by the Hungarian Helsinki Committee in 2013 – can be accessed here, and the two volumes are intended to be read and used in conjunction.