Recital (3)

The fact that a third country is considered as a safe country of origin, either at Union or at national level, cannot constitute an absolute guarantee of safety for nationals of that country, even for those who do not belong to a category of persons for which an exception is made when designating that country as a safe country of origin, and therefore does not dispense with the need to conduct an individual examination of the application for international protection. By its very nature, the assessment of whether a third country should be designated as a safe country of origin can only take into account the general, civil, legal and political circumstances in that country and whether actors of persecution, torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment are subject to sanction in practice when found liable in that country. Member States may apply the concept of safe country of origin only where the applicant cannot provide elements justifying why the concept of safe country of origin is not applicable to him or her, in the framework of an individual assessment, and provided that the applicant has the nationality of that country or provided that he or she is a stateless person and was formerly habitually resident in that country. The application of the concept of safe country of origin in the framework of the individual assessment is without prejudice to the fact that certain categories of applicants may find themselves in a specific situation in the third countries designated as safe countries of origin and may therefore have a well-founded fear of being persecuted or face a real risk of suffering serious harm.