UNHCR: "Grand Board's Afghanistan decision to be applied to other nationalities too
Both the Directorate of Immigration (UDI) and the Immigration Appeals Board (UNE)
state that the recent decision by the Grand Board to set a threshold for sending
persons back to parts of Afghanistan other than where they are from will be
applicable to refugees from other countries, too. A condition, however, is that the
country's situation is somewhat similar to that of Afghanistan, says Terje
Sjeggestad, director of UDI. NOAS (the Norwegian Organization for Asylum Seekers)
welcomes the news, saying that it believes the decision may concern persons from
many countries, among others Chechnya, Sudan and Somalia.
(VG 13 July 2007 http://www.vg.no/pub/vgart.hbs?artid=151044)

400 Afghans affected by Grand Board decision
Grand Board papers show that the Grand Board's guiding decision last week will be of
consequence for altogether 400 Afghan asylum-seekers, 100 of whom have not had their
cases determined yet, and 300 of whom have been rejected but can appeal. The
decision, which meant that two Afghans who had been rejected by the Directorate of
Immigration can stay in Norway, will be of consequence for persons who are from
insecure areas in Afghanistan and lack links with other areas. According to General
Secretary of NOAS (the Norwegian Organization for Asylum Seekers), the decision
consitutes a change in praxis by the Grand Board. Director of the Directorate of
Immigration Terje Sjeggestad dismisses this, saying that the decision is a result of
changed circumstances in Afghanistan".
(Dagbladet 13 July 2007 http://www.dagbladet.no/nyheter/2007/07/13/506179.html)