CCPR/C/123/D/2575/2015
Annex II
[Original: French]
Individual opinion of Olivier de Frouville (concurring)
1.
These views are in line with the now well-established jurisprudence of the Human
Rights Committee in respect of the return from one European Union country to another of
persons seeking asylum or enjoying subsidiary protection. All such cases submitted to the
Committee concern a single State party, namely, Denmark. In most cases, the country of
return is Italy. The Committee has established a number of principles applicable to these
cases, starting with its Views in the case of Jasin v. Denmark, adopted on 22 July 2015.
These principles are accepted by a majority on the Committee, but their application to
certain cases continues to divide its members.
2.
In accordance with its general jurisprudence on expulsion, the Committee attaches
considerable weight to the assessment by the national authorities of a real and personal risk
of harm, as envisaged in articles 6 and 7 of the Covenant. The Committee considers that it
is generally for the bodies of the State concerned to assess the facts and evidence in order to
establish the existence of such risk, unless that assessment is clearly arbitrary or constitutes
a denial of justice.
3.
In addition, for these cases in particular, the Committee has identified four factors to
be taken into account in the assessment. The first factor concerns the situation in the
country of return with regard to the reception and care of asylum seekers or persons
enjoying subsidiary protection. The second factor concerns the past experience of the
persons concerned in the country of return and therefore the treatment they can expect upon
return to that country. The third factor concerns the author’s situation of vulnerability at the
time of the Committee’s consideration of the request; responsibility for minor children,
whose best interests must be duly taken into account in the decision, is a contributory factor
in this respect. The fourth and final factor is whether or not the State party has sought
assurances from the receiving State that the persons concerned will be cared for in
conditions appropriate to their situation, and also, when the authors are accompanied by
minor children, that they will be cared for in conditions appropriate to the children’s age
and the family’s vulnerable situation, without exposing them to the risk of indirect
refoulement.
4.
When the Committee concludes that the assessment of the national authorities is
clearly arbitrary, it considers that there would be a violation if the State party were to return
the authors without seeking the assurances specified by the Committee in the grounds for
its Views. In other words, this is still a potential violation, which the State party could
avoid by requesting personalized assurances under the conditions set out by the Committee.
It should be noted that, unfortunately, in all the time the Committee has been seized of this
type of case, Denmark has never made any such request.
5.
I believe that the Committee has correctly applied its jurisprudence in the present
case. With regard to conditions in the country, the Committee takes note of the various
reports submitted by the author and mentioned in paragraphs 4.4 and 6.3, which show that
persons who return to Italy after having already received some form of protection there are
not entitled to accommodation in reception facilities and that there is no legal procedure for
identifying persons in a vulnerable situation. More recent reports show that there has been
no improvement in this regard and that, on the contrary, systemic problems persist. 1
6.
The author’s past experience is unfortunately comparable to that of other cases that
the Committee has had to consider: after receiving her residence permit, the author had to
live in extremely precarious and insecure conditions for several years, until she became
pregnant and decided to leave Italy for Denmark. Her residence permit in Italy expired in
July 2016 (para. 4.1). The author would be particularly vulnerable if she were to return to
1
GE.19-07290
See para. 9.5 and footnotes 29 and 33.
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