Dutch Council for Refugees welcomes better protection

The Dutch Council of State, the highest Court in asylum cases in The Netherlands, has ruled that indiscriminate violence in the area of Mogadishu, in Somalia, has reached such a level that anyone who is returned there can be at risk.

Edwin Huizing, director of the Dutch Council for Refugees, an ECRE Member, welcomed this decision: "This statement is not only very important for Somalis, but also for refugees who have fled from other violent regions".

Somalia does not have a functioning government and, according to UNHCR, last May, the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) reached 1.5 million people. Less than 20,000 Somalis sought asylum in the EU last year.