CRC/C/87/D/86/2019 language that is not his first language. Thus, the requirements in terms of form, conclusions and reasoning should not be overly demanding. In addition, it was possible for the Committee and the State party to understand his claims, to identify the complaints and to understand the reasons. The communication is therefore sufficiently substantiated. State party’s additional observations on admissibility and the merits 6.1 In its comments of 14 February 2020, the State party notes that the time limit for appealing against the State Secretariat for Migration decision of 24 April 2019 was five working days upon notification. Since the author was familiar with the procedures to be followed, he cannot claim that he could not have turned to another free legal aid office. The State party disputes that he does not speak French, as he had previously claimed that he was taking intensive, level-A1 French courses and that “several people have confirmed that he now has a very good level of French”. The State party reiterates its observations on the lack of financial means to lodge an appeal and on the subsidiarity principle, pointing out that the complaints raised have never been brought before the Federal Administrative Court. Although the Optional Protocol recognizes that children may have real difficulties in pursuing available remedies, the circumstances of the present case and the grounds put forward do not justify a relaxation of the requirements in this regard. The State party reiterates that the communication is not sufficiently substantiated. 6.2 The State party considers that articles 3 and 4 of the Convention do not provide a basis for any individual right and are therefore not directly applicable. 3 With the exception of the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, the State party does not see any provision relevant to the complaints that grants G.R. an individual and directly applicable right. With regard to article 3 of the Convention, the State party notes that it was the failure to comply with the legal time limit of 30 days that prevented the State Secretariat for Migration from taking action on the request for review. However, the State Secretariat for Migration examined, as a preliminary question, whether the application contained facts or grounds of considerable significance that could seriously raise, from an objective point of view, the question of the existence of obstacles to the enforcement of removal. With respect to the medical issues raised, the State Secretariat for Migration concluded that the city of Colombo had sufficient medical facilities, including public hospitals and private clinics, to treat G.R. Thus, the State Secretariat for Migration properly determined and assessed the best interests of the child. As to article 4 of the Convention, the State party considers that, in the present case, its authorities have taken the measures necessary to implement the Convention rights. Insofar as the communication concerns economic, social and cultural rights, the State party refers to article 10 (4) of the Optional Protocol. 6.3 With regard to the general claims made by the author, the State party submits that the author does not demonstrate in any way that it would not be possible to obtain the necessary medical treatment for G.R. and that, on the contrary, hypothyroidism is a common disease and the necessary medical treatment is available and accessible in Sri Lanka. According to available information, the Sri Lankan authorities are well aware that congenital hypothyroidism is the most common cause of intellectual disabilities in children. 4 The authorities have also introduced a national programme for screening newborns for congenital hypothyroidism and guidelines for the treatment of hypothyroidism. 5 Moreover, there are several studies by the medical community in Sri Lanka on the subject. The State party concludes that treatment for hypothyroidism is available. 3 4 5 The State party makes a general reference to the jurisprudence of the Federal Supreme Court. Gerard Lucas, “Guidelines on management of congenital hypothyroidism in Sri Lanka”, Sri Lanka Journal of Child Health, vol. 44, No. 2 (2015), pp. 75–76. Sujeewa Amarasena and Manjula Hettiarachchi, “Establishment of national programme on newborn screening for congenital hypothyroidism”, Sri Lanka Journal of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, vol. 8, No. 2 (2008), pp. 13–18; https://old.slcp.lk/management-of-congenitalhypothyroidism. 5