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Deportation: Sudan

Volume 479: debated on Monday 21 July 2008

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been deported to (a) Darfur and (b) Khartoum in each year since 1997. (219418)

Removal statistics are recorded on a country basis only and the requested information would only be available by examination of individual case files at disproportionate cost . Destination data have only been collated since 2004; published information prior to this is not available.

35 persons were removed or departed voluntarily to Sudan in 2004; 60 in 2005; 90 in 2006 and 80 in 2007. Figures include persons departing voluntarily after enforcement action had been initiated against them, persons leaving under assisted voluntary return programmes run by the International Organization for Migration and since January 2005 those who it is established have left the UK without informing the immigration authorities. Figures are rounded to the nearest five and information for 2006 and 2007 is provisional.

Further National Statistics on removals from the UK are available from the Library of the House and the Home Office's Research, Development and Statistics website at:

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html.

On 9 July 2008, Ministers announced that the Government have deferred enforcing the return of non-Arab Darfuri asylum seekers to Sudan pending the outcome of a country guidance case that is due to be heard by the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal in the near future. The case, originally listed to be heard in May, is currently waiting to be relisted and will address the safety of return to Khartoum.