CCPR/C/115/D/2474/2014 politics and family life; that almost 100 per cent of Afghans are Muslims; that the idea of conversion would be completely alien to an overwhelming majority of Afghans; that a convert would be stigmatized in all regards and that a conversion would have major and serious consequences not only for the individual convert but also for the whole extended family, who lose “so much honour that they will be marginalized by the local community” to the point that family members would no longer be eligible marriage candidates; and that renouncing Islam and converting to Christianity was therefore an enormous step for an Afghan. The Court therefore considered that the important role Islam plays in the lives of Afghans gives reason to assess in-depth individual asylum seekers’ motives for converting and that there is also reason to expect that individual asylum seekers will have reflected on their motives for converting and the effects it would have on themselves and their families. 4.5 The Court of Appeals further considered that the history of Norway’s asylum practice is an important backdrop to the assessment of conversion cases. The Court relied on information provided by the Immigration Appeals Board stating that until August 2003, most Afghans were granted residence in Norway. From early 2005 to early 2007, however, Afghan asylum seekers were referred to Kabul as an internal flight alternative. The first 17 cases involving conversion were considered by the Board toward the end of 2005/beginning of 2006. Nine appeals succeeded. From that point until the first part of 2007, the Board received over 100 cases involving conversion, while the Directorate of Immigration received 20 such cases. In the majority of the cases received by the Board, conversion was invoked in the petition for reversal after a final negative decision by the Directorate. From the first part of 2007 to the same period in 2009, all Afghans without a connection to a stable area in the country were granted residence in Norway. During this period, when no referrals were made to an internal flight alternative, the immigration authorities received only five cases concerning Afghans who had converted. From the latter part of 2009 to March 2014 (the date of the Court of Appeals decision), the Board again referred asylum seekers to an internal flight alternative. During this period, the Board received more than 150 Afghan conversion cases. Since the end of 2005/beginning of 2006, a total of 300 Afghans applied for asylum in Norway on the basis of conversion after having arrived in Norway. The Court considered that this figure must be assessed in light of the fact that conversion among first-generation Muslim immigrants in Norway is practically unheard-of, and that almost all the cases of conversion occur among asylum seekers for whom renouncing Islam entails a risk of persecution, i.e., in Afghanistan and the Islamic Republic of Iran. History also shows that conversion is almost exclusively invoked as grounds for asylum during periods in which the immigration authorities are strict and do not grant Afghans residence on any other grounds, but refer them to the internal flight alternative. With reference to the Guidelines on International Protection: Religion-Based Refugee Claims under article 1 A (2) of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and/or the 1967 Protocol thereto, the Court of Appeals concluded that the “clear connection between the conversion cases and asylum practice gives reason to subject the new asylum grounds to a thorough assessment, and to focus in particular on personal reflections on the motive for and the consequences of converting, cf. UNHCR Guidelines, [para.] 35. In this assessment, the asylum seeker’s general credibility will be an important factor.” The Court cites paragraphs 34 and 35 of the Guidelines which state, inter alia: Where individuals convert after their departure from the country of origin, this may have the effect of creating a sur place claim. In such situations, particular credibility concerns tend to arise and a rigorous and in-depth examination of the circumstances and genuineness of the conversion will be necessary.… Both the specific circumstances in the country of asylum and the individual case may justify additional probing into particular claims. Where, for example, systematic and organised conversions are carried out by local religious groups in the country of asylum for the purposes of accessing resettlement options, and/or where 7