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'Darfuri survivors deserve our protection'

Refugee Action is dismayed that a court decision at the House of Lords on 14 November (see link below) has cleared the way for the forced return of Darfuri refugees to the Sudanese capital.

Refugee Action's Chief Executive Sandy Buchan said: “It is a pity that the law lords were unable to consider disturbing new evidence that Darfuri returnees to Khartoum have been maltreated and tortured by the authorities there. We hope the Home Secretary will take account of this evidence and impose a moratorium on returns to Khartoum.

“The government has got it wrong on this issue. The UK has a clear moral obligation to survivors of the genocide in Darfur.”

It has been accepted throughout that the respondents have a well-founded fear of persecution in Darfur. All three suffered severe persecution at the hands of militias acting with government support or connivance.

Only 675 Sudanese nationals applied for asylum in the UK last year, yet almost nine in every ten were refused asylum. Too many people who have suffered at the hands of some of the world’s worst human rights abusers are being refused protection in the UK. Rightly terrified of return, they now find themselves on the margins of society, with no recourse to support, and no right to work.

This trend has worsened since 2003, when the Home Office phased out Exceptional Leave to Remain, which afforded status to those who did not qualify as refugees under the 1951 Convention but who nevertheless had protection needs. ELR was once applied in one in four asylum cases. Since its abolition, the asylum system has become too rigid and inflexible, and case owners have insufficient scope for protecting asylum seekers on humanitarian grounds.

Sandy Buchan added: “The government is observing the letter of the Refugee Convention but not its spirit. If we cannot show compassion for survivors of the humanitarian catastrophe in Darfur, which the Prime Minister recently described as one of the “world’s darkest corners”, who will we show compassion for?”

Ends

For more information or to arrange interviews please contact Julia Ravenscroft, press officer at Refugee Action, on 0161 233 1956 or 07771 748 159.

More on this story :

BBC: Ministers win Darfur court appeal

Judgment online: Secretary of State for the Home Department vs AH (Sudan) and others (FC)