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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> United Kingdom Asylum and Immigration Tribunal >> MH (Darfurians: relocation to Khartoum?) Sudan [2006] UKAIT 00033 (03 April 2006) URL: https://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKIAT/2006/00033.html Cite as: [2006] UKAIT 33, [2006] UKAIT 00033 |
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MH (Darfurians: relocation to Khartoum?) Sudan
[2006] UKAIT 00033
Date of hearing: 11 January 2006
Date Determination notified: 03 April 2006
MH |
APPELLANT |
and |
|
Secretary of State for the Home Department | RESPONDENT |
On reviewing the background country material both past and present, the view of the Tribunal is that relocation to Khartoum is still in general a viable option for those from Darfur
"1. This was an appeal by the Secretary of State against the decision of an Adjudicator (now Immigration Judge) Mr A. B. Caskie, sitting at North Shields on 3 September 2004, allowing the appeal on asylum and human rights grounds of the appellant, a citizen ofSudan
, against the decision of the respondent to refuse asylum and give directions for his removal. Since permission to appeal was given, but the appeal had not been heard by 4 April 2005, it proceeds as if reconsideration had been ordered on review by the present Tribunal.
2. We had full submissions from the parties and were satisfied that the grounds were made out by Mrs Pettersen (HOPO). Although Miss Ganning took us through the objective material that had been before the Adjudicator, she did not identify any passages in the objective material to support or justify the conclusion reached by the Adjudicator. We were satisfied that there would have to be a reassessment of the objective evidence and in the light of the additional evidence to be submitted and as the proceedings were being conducted by video link we were satisfied that the case would have to be adjourned for a consideration of the objective evidence on another occasion.
3. The error of law was that the Adjudicator misinterpreted the objective evidence or there was no satisfactory evidence to support his decision.
4. We decided to adjourn for the reasons given and therefore the case will be reconsidered on its merits at a future date by the Tribunal."
"Despite concluding that there is no evidence of the population of Darfur facing any difficulties in Khartoum I consider that the reason for this is not because the population of Darfur are not facing difficulties in Khartoum. It is absolutely clear that an enormous number of individuals (in excess of 200,000) have fled from Dafur to Chad where a further 1.2 million are internally displaced. It is clear to me that there is no evidence of any of the population in Darfur seeking refuge in Khartoum. I accept the evidence presented to me that a great many of the horrendous results which have occurred within Darfur are caused by, encouraged by or linked to elements of the Sudanese state. I also consider that the evidence before me indicates that there are efforts by the Sudanese government and their official and unofficial agents to ethnically cleanse the Darfur region. Against that background it appears to me that any individual emanating from Darfur who arrived in Khartoum would be at substantial risk."
Tribunal guidance on risk to Darfurians
"..arrests have been carried out mostly of suspected supporters of opposition groups including Darfuris from African ethnic groups accused of sympathising with the armed groups".
The background evidence
68. Many Sudanese from marginalised areas such as SouthSudan
and Dafur live in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) 'camps' on the fringes of Khartoum. Camps which host Darfuris have been raided by the Sudanese security forces and Dafuris have been arrested and detained incommunicado. Many IDP camps are raided by the police in attempts to relocate IDPs in the camps (without advance warning or the right to appeal) further into the deserts on the outskirts of the capital, often with no access to basic facilities, such as water, housing and transport. The UN has denounced such practices by the Sudanese government in recent months.
69. The areas of the capital in which the displaced people of southern and westernSudan
live, whether in camps or more permanent settlements, have frequently been raided by the authorities in search of suspected rebel sympathisers. In the last few months, encampments such as Soba Aradi have been the targets of security police operations to remove inhabitants further into the desert. In long-established settlements such as Hajj Yousid and Souq Sitta, the authorities closed off the area and conducted house-by-house searches in August 2005, following the unrest that was triggered by the death of Vice-President John Garang. These actions have resulted in a number of gross human rights abuses against innocent civilians. Darfuri people in the capital are now being treated in the same way that Nuba and Southern Sudanese have been in the last decade. Often their treatment is worse, according to my eyewitness (see below).
70. People fleeing from Darfur to Khartoum are demonstrably not safe. For example, between January and February 2005, some 750 people who had fled to Khartoum from Dafur were sent to a school in Mayo camp, Khartoum, to be looked after by a group of local voluntary associations. They included young and old men and women, and young children from the Fur, Zighawa, Massaleit and other, smaller African tribes. At the end of February, the police raided the school, using batons and tear gas indiscriminately. Although a few terrified individuals managed to run away, there is no news of what happened to the rest. They may have been imprisoned, killed or detained indefinitely, according to an investigation by the Aegis Trust published in June 2005."
"In Khartoum since 2002 people originating from Dafur have been routinely subjected to arrests. Such practices have continued throughout 2004 (13). Many arrests carried out by the security forces named above do not seem to be for any reason other than belonging to particular ethnic groups, usually those represented in the dark for armed opposition groups (Zaghawa, Fur, Masalit and other small groups) or to families who enjoy a certain social status in those groups."
"Often displaced camps around the capital are raided by the security forces and persons from Dafur arrested. There seems to be no other reason for their arrests than their area of origin. Several IDPs from Dafur living in Mayo camp were arrested at the beginning of October."
The report then identifies a lawyer, an engineer, several students and a 15 –year-old child.
"The risk of being kept in prolonged incommunicado detention is very real. Some Dafurians arrested since February 2004 are still detained without charge and mostly incommunicado. No reason was given for their arrest. Amnesty International believes that they were arrested on account of their ethnicity."
A number of named individuals are described including a leader of the Fur clan, a lawyer, a merchant, a bank employee and a student.
6.276 USSD 2004 stated that "Tens of thousands of persons, largely southerners and westerners displaced by famine and civil war, continued to live in squatter slums ringing Khartoum." [3b] (Section 2d) The Global IDP Project's March 2005 Profile reported the UN's 2005 assessment of the mix of IDPs in Khartoum as being "750,000 from southernSudan
; 510,000 from Transitional Areas; 270,000 from Darfur; 25,000 from Eastern
Sudan
." [43] (p65) Also that "The major ethnic groups are the Dinka, Nuba, Missiriya and Fur. The smaller groups include the Shilluk 4.1%, Bari 4%, Firtit 3.2%, Nuer 2.3% and Fonj 2%." [43] (p204) Concerning the treatment of different types of internally displaced persons, the Global IDP's Profile also reported the findings of a June 1997 Amnesty International (AI) report:
"Southerners and Nuba are widely seen as second class citizens and as supporters of 'the enemy', exposing them to discrimination and abuse. Sudanese law reinforces prejudice by differentiating between 'squatters' – people who arrived in Khartoum before 1984 (mainly because of drought and famine in westernSudan
) – and the 'displaced' – people who arrived after 1984 (mainly southerners and Nuba fleeing the war). Squatters have the right to settle in Khartoum; displaced people do not. (AI 20 June 1997, '
Sudan
: abuse and discrimination')" [43] (p87)
6.277 The Global IDP Project's March 2005 Profile stated that "A survey found that three-quarters of IDPs in Khartoum were unemployed, with 44 percent having received no formal education. Over half of them were under 20 years old (CARE/IOM, 28 February 2003)." [43] (p12) USSD 2004 reported that "Southern IDPs generally occupied the lowest paying occupations and were subject to economic exploitation in rural and urban industries and activities." [3b] (Section 6e)
6.278 A report compiled by the IRC in November and December 2004 on the situation of Khartoum's IDPs recorded that "Although there were some overall similarities/issues affecting internally displaced people in the four different areas surveyed (OeS, WeB, Soba Arradi and Mayo camp), there are also key distinctions that must be kept in mind." [62c] (Key Findings) The report went on to list these distinctions – ethnic and social-economic, what replanning stage each camp had reached, the Crude Mortality Rate, proportion of Female Headed households and education – in more detail, and discussed the impact of the replanning process on concerns such as health, education, returns, leadership structures and the legal status of IDPs in Khartoum. [62c] (Key Findings) IRC's report stated that:
"In October 2003, the Ministry of Planning in Khartoum State began the re-planning process of two IDP camps, Wad el Bashier (WeB) and Omdurman es Salaam (OeS) and three squatter areas, Mayo Dar Naim, Soba Arradi and Salaama. The process was accelerated during the last months of 2004 and has led to some challenges that need addressing. It is believed that the current demolitions have affected over 250,000 people in Khartoum State." [62c] (Background of the Assessment)
6.279 In 2004 and 2005, the UN's Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN) reported on the worsening conditions for IDP's residing in Khartoum. [15bf, 15bi, 15ci] The October 2004 report recorded that, in the Khartoum area, the government had demolished thousands of homes in three official camps. The government claimed the demolitions were part of an area-replanning programme. [15bf] (p1) The February 2005 report recorded how the vast majority of those made homeless were unable to afford the plots, or provide the necessary documentation required to purchase a new plot and that, of those that could, 6,000 were unable to afford the construction costs of building a new home. [15bi] (p2) IRIN's February 2005 report also outlined how the demolitions had adversely affected the provision of basic services, such as medical clinics, latrines and water points. [15bi] (p3)
6.280 IRIN reported in March 2005 that "At least 11,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) were forced to move following the demolition of the Shikan settlement, 18 km north of the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, a UN spokesperson said on Tuesday. They were now living rough in El Fateh, a desert area north of the capital, she added." [15ci] The report added that "More than 13,000 IDPs, displaced by the 21-year-old war that ended in southernSudan
in January, had found shelter in Shikan, a squatter area established in the 1980s. Nuba, Majanin, Arab, Shilluk, Dinka, Masalit, Felata and Khofra were among the ethnic groups in Shikan." [15ci]
6.281 In May 2005, theSudan
Organisation Against Torture (SOAT) reported on a violent confrontation between the IDPs and the police when the authorities attempted to forcibly relocate the residents; the report stated that "On 18 May 2005, several people were killed, 14 police officers, 6 civilians including two children and several others were wounded when violence broke out in Soba Aradi Area, with a population of 10, 000 people in Southern Khartoum." [23ai] A follow up report published by the same organisation in June 2005 recorded that:
"As a response to the incident, the government ofSudan
has deployed extra police, military and security personnel on the streets of Soba. Persons residing in the Soba Aradi Area have been subjected to a government controlled campaign of mass arbitrary arrests and incommunicado detentions. Over 200 people have been arrested including women and children. The whereabouts of many of those are unknown to their families. Furthermore, on 24 May 2005, police officers shut off three out of four water pipes lines and tanks as a method to force people to leave the Soba Aradi area. At present the population in Soba are facing water shortages." [23aq]
6.282 An August 2005 press release by AI reported that "The organization [AI] is concerned that Shikan's residents have been arbitrarily relocated to camps without their consent, where they are deprived of fundamental human rights – including the right to health care and education." [11h] The report also stated that, on 17 August 2005:
"National security forces arrived with lorries, emptying the entire camp of its residents. 500 families were moved to Thawra camp, 170 families were relocated to Al-Fatah III, and 371 families will be allotted places to return to in Shikan.
Al Fatah III and Thawra are locations lacking the most basic means of survival. Thawra, located 55 kilometres north of Khartoum, was previously a garbage dump, and lacks all essential services. Water, healthcare, and educational facilities are non-existent as the location is no more than a patch of desert. Al Fatah III is better only in that it possesses one water pump." [11h]
6.283 AI noted that "Shikan is mainly populated by southern Sudanese and Darfuris who have been forced to flee their homes due to serious human rights abuses committed during the long-standing conflict, including severe economic deprivation." [11h]
Our conclusion
DECISION
1. The Adjudicator made a material error of law.
2. The following decision is substituted:
(i) The appellant's appeal on asylum grounds is dismissed.
(ii) The appellant's appeal on human rights grounds is dismissed.
ANDREW JORDAN
SENIOR IMMIGRATION JUDGE
Principal sources of background information considered by the Tribunal in previous decisions
a. UNHCR letters 1 July 2002 and 25 July 2003 [AA] 18 May 2004 and 2 November 2004 [MM] and [AE]
b. Human Rights Watch report (unidentified) [MM]
c. Norwegian Refugee Council's profile report 19 May 2004 [AA]
d. Global IDP Project report 24 March 2005 [AE]
e. Amnesty International Paper 4 April 2005 [AE]
f. US State Department report for 2004 (28 February 2005) [LM]
g. UNHCR Handbook [AE]
h. CIPU reports April 2004 and October 2004 [AE] April 2005 [LM]
i. Peter Verney reports May 2004 [AA] 28 October 2004 and addendums [MM] and oral evidence [AE]
Principal background information relied upon in this appeal
1. Human Rights Watch: Empty Promises? 11 August 2004
2. Amnesty International: No one to complain to 2 December 2004
3. Dennis McNamara, head of the UN's Internal Displacement Division, interview, 30 September 2005
4. The UN Secretary General report 12 September 2005
5. Peter Verney report, 31 October 2005
6. COIS report October 2005
7. Voice of America News; Displaced Sudanese suffer in New Camp 11 October 2005