CAT/C/53/D/458/2011
proceedings and the allegations of her repeated detention and detailed information on
torture were submitted only after the Refugee Appeals Board hearing, although there were
previous opportunities to submit such information. The Committee notes the medical
reports submitted by the complainant and the argument by the State party that the
conclusions in the Amnesty International medical group report of 2 June 2009 cannot be
accepted as a proof of torture. The Committee further notes the complainant’s claim that the
State party has failed to carry out an independent medical assessment of her allegations of
torture and the State party’s response that such an examination was neither requested by the
complainant nor deemed necessary by the State party owing to the late presentation of
information about torture and an overall lack of credibility of the complainant’s story.
9.5
Regarding the above observations by the parties, the Committee recalls that illtreatment suffered in the past is only one element to be taken into account, the relevant
question before the Committee being whether the complainant currently runs a risk of
torture if returned to Ethiopia.13 The Committee considers that, even if it were assumed that
the complainant was tortured by the State authorities in the past, it does not automatically
follow that, at least seven years after the alleged events occurred, she would still be at risk
of being subjected to torture if returned to Ethiopia.14
9.6
The Committee notes with concern the reports on human rights violations in
Ethiopia,15 including the use of torture and the information submitted by the complainant
about the persecution of Oromo Liberation Front activists. It also recalls its concluding
observations of 2010, issued in connection with the initial report of Ethiopia, in which it
states that it was “deeply concerned about numerous, ongoing and consistent allegations
concerning the routine use of torture” by government agents against political dissidents and
opposition party members, students, alleged terrorists and alleged supporters of violent
separatist groups, such as the Oromo Liberation Front.16 The Committee notes the
arguments of the complainant that she is an active member of the Oromo Liberation Front
and the submission of the State party questioning the veracity of this information. On the
basis of the information before it, however, the Committee concludes that the complainant
failed to provide evidence of her political activity of such significance that would attract the
interest of the authorities. The information before the Committee does not show that the
complainant has attracted the attention of the Ethiopian authorities since the moment she
left the country.
9.7
In the light of the above, the Committee considers that the information submitted by
the complainant is insufficient to establish her claim that she would be at a personal,
foreseeable and real risk of torture upon being returned to Ethiopia.
9.8
The Committee against Torture, acting under article 22, paragraph 7, of the
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment, concludes that the complainant’s removal to Ethiopia by the State party would
not constitute a breach of article 3 of the Convention.
13
14
15
16
See, for example, communications No. 61/1996, X.Y. and Z. v. Sweden, decision adopted on 6 May
1998, para. 11.2; and No. 435/2010, G.B.M. v. Sweden, decision of 14 November 2012, para. 7.7.
See, for example, communication No. 431/2010, Y. v. Switzerland, decision adopted on 21 May 2013,
para. 7.7.
See, for example, A/HRC/WG.6/19/ETH/2. See also Amnesty International, Amnesty International
Report 2013: The State of the World's Human Rights (London, 2013).
See CAT/C/ETH/CO/1, para. 10.
11