In response to the ruling by the House of Lords today that allows asylum seekers from Darfur to be returned to Sudan, Donna Covey, Chief Executive of the Refugee Council said:

“In light of the shocking reports of genocide in Darfur it is appalling that the government is even considering sending those fleeing the violence back to Sudan. What is worse is that the Prime Minister has only recently spoken out about the gravity of the crisis.

“It is breathtaking hypocrisy for the Prime Minister to speak about the tragedy of Darfur at the same time as home office lawyers are seeking to forcibly return those who have asked for sanctuary in Britain.

“In a crisis that has produced more than two million refugees, only 675 Sudanese nationals applied for asylum in the UK last year. Moreover, there is worrying evidence of maltreatment and torture of people from Darfur being forcibly returned to Khartoum. We urge the government to take this into account, and to focus on protecting Darfuri refugees fleeing their country, rather than looking for ways of preventing them from staying here.”

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