LONDON — Two alleged members of a Sudanese paramilitary group accused of murdering thousands of civilians were invited to a fringe event at the U.K. Labour Party’s annual conference, POLITICO has learned.
The event was arranged by U.K.-based organization the Centre for Turkiye Studies (CEFTUS), which is run by Labour Party councillor Ibrahim Dogus. CEFTUS cancelled the event, due to be attended by the two men linked to Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF), after being contacted by POLITICO.
A spokesperson for CEFTUS said: “We deplore the human rights abuses and violence that the Rapid Support Forces have been accused of, and our focus has consistently been on promoting dialogue, understanding, and peaceful solutions, rather than advancing any particular political agenda.” They added: “CEFTUS was not aware of any links between these individuals and the RSF, and at this stage no independent evidence has been presented connecting them.” The spokesperson said CEFTUS had removed the speakers from event invitations while they requested further information.
The panel, titled “Sudan at a crossroads: Supporting peace, democracy and civilian voices” was due to take place in a space hired by SME4Labour, also run by Dogus.
Several Labour parliamentarians were listed as invitees to the event, including Deputy Leader of the House of Lords Ray Collins, who until recently was a Foreign Office minister.
Labour MP Laura Kyrke-Smith was listed as chairing the event. However, a spokesperson said she had no knowledge of the invitation and would not attend.
The two men who were invited are allegedly linked to the RSF, which is accused of committing crimes against humanity including the widespread massacre and rape of civilians. The country is currently locked in a violent civil war between two rival factions that emerged from a coup in 2021.
The same men were disinvited from an event at the European Parliament on Wednesday, also organized by CEFTUS , after lawmakers were alerted to claims about their background.
The Member of the European Parliament (MEP) who organized the event told POLITICO that he had fact-checked the allegations, sent to him by two of his peers, with the Parliament’s foreign affairs department.
“The External Action Service of the EU Parliament approved the findings and told us that these people are in fact directly connected to the RSF,” German independent MEP Lukas Sieper said.
Despite the cancellation of the event in the European Parliament, Dogus arranged for it to take place at an alternate venue in Brussels, one person involved told POLITICO.
Dogus said the event was rearranged at short notice in the absence of any evidence of the pair’s RSF connection.
Dogus is a Labour councillor for the London borough of Lambeth and is well-known in London political circles as the organizer of the British Kebab Awards, an annual event attended by numerous prominent Westminster figures.
Gamaal El Attar, executive director of the International Federation for Rights and Development (IFRD), a Belgium-based human rights group, described it as “deeply troubling” that the Labour Party conference could host figures associated with the RSF.
“The RSF is directly implicated in genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and widespread gender-based violence,” he added. “Offering these individuals a platform risks whitewashing atrocities and undermines the Labour Party’s moral credibility.”
While the Labour Party itself does not invite guests to fringe events, which happen away from the main stage, it is responsible for accrediting all attendees.
A Labour Party spokesperson said: “This event is no longer going ahead.”
The two individuals will no longer be attending the conference, according to Labour officials.
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