procedure is at risk of being sent back to their country of origin without adequate consideration of the evidence pertaining to the allegation of torture. It is arguable that in countries that have an accelerated asylum procedure for certain categories of applicants (for example, those from a designated list of countries perceived to be ‘safe’) there should be a more robust system in place for the early identification of VoTs to ensure that, as vulnerable persons, they are not processed within the shortened time-frames. Is there an accelerated procedure for assessing asylum applications? Accelerated procedure in which VoTs can be processed: Bulgaria, Croatia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Canada. No accelerated procedure: Armenia, Hungary, Kosovo, Moldova, Turkey, USA, Australia, New Zealand. Not sure: Netherlands. Yes - VoTs can be processed (9; 50%) No (8; 44%) Not sure (1; 6%) Europe EU countries: The majority of the participants that report an accelerated asylum procedure are in EU Member States (Bulgaria, Croatia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy and Sweden). Hungary was the only EU Member State in which a centre reported that it has no accelerated procedure. The large number of EU Member States with accelerated procedures is concerning as it indicates that VoTs are at risk of having their asylum applications looked at quickly, without the necessary detail and care to ensure that all evidence is presented clearly and fully at the earliest possible stage of the procedure. For example, in France, the accelerated procedure is processed by L’Office français de protection des réfugiés et apatrides (OFPRA) with a decision taken within 15 days. Claims submitted by asylum-seekers from “safe” countries are examined under an accelerated procedure, and the asylum applicant could be forcibly returned before his/her appeal has been examined. The asylum applicant is not entitled to any residence permit, financial or social assistance, and the appeal has no suspensive effect.79 Germany has a so-called “airport procedure”, whereby VoTs can have their asylum application processed in a very short time-frame, and there is risk that, in most cases, the fact that the person is a torture victim will not have been recognised at this stage.80 In addition, an appeal of a negative decision for an asylum application handled in the accelerated procedure does not have a suspensive effect in Germany, meaning there is a high risk that the person will be deported back to their home country before the court has made a decision on the appeal.81 In Croatia, an accelerated procedure can be applied if the Ministry of Interior can make a positive decision on the basis of available evidence, or if the claim is clearly unfounded. There is no obligation not to apply accelerated procedure to VoTs; it can be applied if it is assessed that the asylum-seeker meets one of the two requirements outlined in the legislation. The centres in the Netherlands gave different responses to this question, so the Netherlands is recorded as “not sure”.82 However, background research on the Netherlands indicates that in June 2010, the 50 / Recognising victims of torture in national asylum procedures