CAT/C/38/D/270&271/2005 Page 5 which they were previously ill- treated themselves 3 . As the complainants are related to someone that has perpetrated serious political crimes, they claim that they will be treated accordingly, as enemies of the State. State party’s observations on the admissibility and the merits 4.1 On 16 November 2005 and 16 March 2006, the State party provided its submissions on the admissibility and the merits of both complaints. It submits that they are both inadmissible as manifestly ill-founded, and sets out the relevant provisions of the Aliens Act, pointing out that several provisions reflect the same principle as that laid down in article 3, paragraph 1, of the Convention. The national authority conducting the asylum interview is naturally in a good position to assess the information submitted by asylum seekers. On 9 November 2005, temporary amendments were enacted to the 1989 Aliens Act. On 15 November 2005, these amendments entered into force and were to remain in force until the entry into force of a new Aliens Act on 31 March 2006. The temporary amendments introduced additional legal grounds for granting a residence permit with respect to aliens against whom a final refusal-ofentry or expulsion order has been issued. According to the new Chapter 2, section 5 b of the Aliens Act, if new circumstances come to light concerning enforcement of a refusal-of-entry or expulsion order that has entered into force, the Swedish Migration Board, acting upon an application from an alien or of its own initiative, may grant a residence permit, inter alia, if there is reason to believe that the intended country of return will not be willing to accept the alien or if there are medical obstacles to enforcing the order. 4.2 Furthermore, a residence permit may be granted if it is of urgent humanitarian interest for some other reason. When assessing the humanitarian aspects, particular account shall be taken of whether the alien has been in Sweden for a long time and if, on account of the situation in the receiving country, the use of coercive measures would not be considered possible when enforcing the refusal-of-entry or expulsion order. Further special considerations shall be given to a child's social situation, his or her period of residence in and ties to the State party, and the risk of causing harm to the child's health and development. It must also be considered whether the alien committed crimes and a residence permit may be refused for security reasons. Decisions made by the Migration Board under Chapter 2, Section 5 b, as amended, are not subject to appeal. 4.3 The Migration Board decided on its own accord to examine whether E. R. K. qualified for a residence permit under the temporary wording of Chapter 2, section 5 b of the Aliens Act and appointed counsel to represent him before the Board. On 3 March 2006, it found that he should not be granted such a permit as the circumstances of his case could not be considered to involve an urgent humanitarian interest and he had not developed such ties to Sweden to warrant granting of a permit. 4.4 On the merits and as to the general situation of human right in Azerbaijan, the State party submits that Azerbaijan has been a party to the Convention against Torture since 1996 and has made a declaration under article 22 to deal with communications. It has also been a party to the Council of Europe (CoE) since January 2001 and is a State party to the European Convention on Human Rights. The CoE has been monitoring the human rights situation and it appears that some progress has been made. However, the State party admits that although 3 No medical evidence has been provided to demonstrate that they were previously ill-treated.