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On 12 May 2026, the National Court of Asylum (CNDA) delivered its decision N°26006334 concerning the protection status to be granted to a Sudanese national of Fur ethnic origin from North Darfur, in light of the situation of persecution affecting that ethnic group.

The applicant challenged the decision of the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (OFPRA) which granted him subsidiary protection, arguing that he should be recognised as a refugee under the 1951 Geneva Convention. The CNDA was required to assess whether the situation in North Darfur amounted to persecution of the Fur ethnic group and whether this justified refugee status rather than subsidiary protection.

The Court found that the Fur ethnic group is subject to systematic and targeted persecution in North Darfur by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied forces, who control the region without effective protection from the Sudanese authorities. Relying on the EUAA Guidance Note on Sudan (23 June 2025) and the UN Fact-Finding Mission report of 19 February 2026, the Court highlighted serious ethnically motivated abuses, including massacres, summary executions, torture, forced displacement, and destruction of communities, with acts described as having “hallmarks of genocide”.

The CNDA held that the existence of indiscriminate violence in North Darfur does not exclude the recognition of targeted persecution where a specific ethnic group is individually and systematically affected. It therefore found that the applicant had a well-founded fear of being persecuted on grounds of ethnicity within the meaning of the 1951 Geneva Convention and recognised refugee status accordingly.