CCPR/C/118/D/2569/2015 protection in the country of first asylum, his or her application for a residence permit can be rejected in Denmark. When considering whether a country can serve as a country of first asylum, the Board applies protection against refoulement and assesses whether the asylum seeker can enter and reside lawfully in the country of first asylum, and whether his or her integrity and safety would be protected in that country. The concept of protection also includes certain social and financial elements, taking into account chapters II to V of the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. However, it cannot be required that asylum seekers have exactly the same social and living standards as the receiving country’s own nationals. The concept of protection requires that asylum seekers must enjoy personal safety when they enter and stay in the country serving as the country of first asylum. When considering whether Bulgaria could serve as a country of first asylum, the Board considers whether at an absolute minimum the asylum seeker is protected against being returned to the country of persecution. 4.3 The State party submits that in its decision of 20 January 2015, the Refugee Appeals Board took into account that the authors had managed to obtain medical care for their eldest daughter and the female author, and that they had also been able to rent a flat in Sofia. The majority of members of the Board also observed that no medical details had been provided on the youngest daughter and that, based on the background information available, the general assumption was that persons granted refugee and protection status in Bulgaria had the same rights as Bulgarian nationals. The Board found that the authors would enjoy the necessary social rights if they were returned to Bulgaria, having thoroughly assessed the authors’ statements on their stay and living conditions there, the general background information available on living conditions in Bulgaria, and the applicable international case law. In that respect, the State party claims that the authors’ statements about reception conditions in Bulgaria are relevant only to individuals falling under the Dublin procedure, but not for the assessment of whether a country can serve as the authors’ country of first asylum. 4.4 With reference to the living conditions in Bulgaria and also regarding the authors’ reference to the report “Trapped in Europe’s quagmire: the situation of asylum seekers and refugees in Bulgaria”, the State party observes that a new integration programme was published on 25 June 2014. The programme is to be implemented as of 2015. The new integration programme will cover a much higher number of persons and language training will be accessible to a greater extent than under the previous programme. The State party observes that the circumstances that the authors may not have access to an effective integration programme in Bulgaria cannot independently lead to a different assessment of Bulgaria as the country of first asylum. 4.5 Regarding the authors’ claim that they risk homelessness because the authorities discontinue the payment of a monthly allowance to asylum seekers once they are granted residence, the State party submits that refugees acquire the rights and obligations of Bulgarian nationals, except for the right to participate in elections and to occupy positions that require Bulgarian nationality. 12 While Bulgaria has registered about 1,000 asylum seekers a year in the past decade, more than 11,000 people submitted asylum applications in 2013 and Bulgaria was unprepared for processing such a number of asylum claims. 13 However, the conditions in reception centres have reportedly improved.14 The State party also observes that according to UNHCR, the quality of accommodation of asylum seekers 12 13 14 6 See, for example, Human Rights Watch, “Containment plan”. Ibid., p. 2. Ibid., p. 5. According to UNHCR, all centres have heat, the State Agency for Refugees provides two hot meals a day to residents and many are now being allowed to remain in the centres for longer periods after being granted refugee or humanitarian status if they lack the means to support themselves.