CHAPTER 5 Table 4 | Substantive decisions taken | 2012-2016 2012 2013 2016 627,200 590,200 941,800 1,086,400 1,408,500 UNHCR 54,400 72,100 99,600 91,600 83,400 Jointly 18,200 500 4,400 6,400 6,000 Total 699,800 662,800 1,045,800 1,183,400 1,498,000 UNHCR only (%) 8 11 10 8 6 DECISIONS Provisional figures indicate that States and UNHCR rendered 1.5 million decisions on individual asylum applications – new, on appeal, or repeat – during 2016 (Table 4), the largest number on record. 63 Figure 19 | Global Total Protection Rates | 2000-2016 Total protection rate (per cent) 2015 States All figures in this section should be considered indicative, because the country of origin for some asylum-seekers is unknown or undisclosed by some States. Data on Europe are particularly likely to include instances of double counting. In light of the scale of irregular onward movement in 2016, some people are likely to have applied in more than one European country. In addition, instances of double counting may include cases under the European Union’s ‘Emergency Relocation Mechanism’. 62 60 50 These figures do not include cases closed for administrative reasons with no decision issued to applicants, 64 of which 1.3 million were reported in 2016. Of the total substantive decisions taken, UNHCR staff adjudicated 83,400 or 6 per cent, a decrease from the high of 99,600 in 2014. Data relating to individual decisions are incomplete, however, as a few States have not yet released all of their official statistics. Thus, there are likely to be additional substantive decisions that have been taken by States in 2016, figures on which will be updated later. Available data indicate that 899,600 asylumseekers were recognized as refugees (564,400) or granted a complementary form of protection (335,200) during 2016. This was a substantial increase from previous years, with 681,300 positive decisions in 2015 and 615,000 in 2014. About 598,400 claims were rejected on substantive grounds, a number that includes negative decisions at the first instance and on appeal. Asylum-seekers rejected at both first and appeal instances may be reported twice, depending on the methods used by governments for reporting decisions on individual asylum applications. 40 61 Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999). 62 Asylum-seekers of nationalities that have at least a 75 per cent recognition rate at first instance across the EU (based on the latest Eurostat quarterly statistics) are eligible for relocation from Greece and Italy. Under this two-year scheme, which was adopted in September 2015, 66,400 asylum-seekers were originally foreseen to be relocated from Greece, and 39,600 from Italy. In 2016, 10,900 people were relocated from Greece and Italy to other EU and certain member States of the European Free Trade Association. See https://data2.unhcr.org/en/documents/ details/53389 for details on individual countries. 30 20 10 63 Refers to decisions taken at all levels in the asylum procedure. 0 00 44 2014 02 04 06 08 10 12 14 16 64 Also referred to as ‘non-substantive’ decisions, which may result from the death of the applicant, no-show for interview, withdrawal of the application, abandonment of the claim, or the determination that another country is responsible for the claim (‘Dublin II’ procedure), among other factors. UNHCR > GLOBAL TRENDS 2016