A/70/44
Switzerland; No. 495/2012, N.Z. v. Kazakhstan; No. 514/2012, Niyonzima v. Burundi;
No. 519/2012, T.M. v. Republic of Korea; and No. 520/2012, W.D.G. v. Canada. The
Committee found communication No. 511/2012, Z. v. Australia, inadmissible.
71. The Committee found that the forcible return of the complainants would
constitute a violation by the States parties of article 3 of the Convention in its
decisions in communications No. 321/2007, Mopongo and others v. Morocco; No.
450/2011, Fadel v. Switzerland; No. 470/2011, X. v. Switzerland; No. 473/2011,
Khademi et al. v. Switzerland; No. 489/2012, Tahmuresi v. Switzerland; and No.
492/2012, Azizi v. Switzerland. The Committee found that the forcible return of the
complainants would not constitute a violation by the States parties of article 3 of the
Convention in its decisions on communications No. 458/2011, X. v. Denmark, No.
519/2012, T.M. v. Republic of Korea, and No. 520/2012, W.D.G. v. Canada.
72. In its decision on communication No. 482/2011, R.S. et al. v. Switzerland, the
Committee also found that the forcible return of the complainants would not constitute
a violation of article 3 of the Convention. The Committee, however, found a violation
by the State party of article 22 of the Convention, because it did not comply with the
Committee’s request not to extradite one of the complainants while his complaint was
being considered.
73. In its decision on communication No. 495/2012, N.Z. v. Kazakhstan, the
Committee considered, for the first time, the moment at which State party declarations
under article 22, accepting the Committee’s competence to consider individual
complaints, enter into force. Although the Convention specifies that the Convention
enters into force for a State party 30 days after ratification, nothing is specified for the
entry into force of a declaration under article 22. The Committee decided that any
declaration made under article 22 after ratification of the Convention is immediately
applicable and communications can be considered as of the date when such
declaration is made. The Committee found no violation of any Convention rights in
this communication.
74. In communication No. 514/2012, Niyonzima v. Burundi, the complainant was the
former General Secretary of the People’s Reconciliation Party. On 1 August 2006, he
was arrested and taken to the National Intelligence Service, questioned and asked to
admit his alleged part in preparing a coup d’état and a plan to assassinate the
President. The complainant was severely tortured by intelligence officers with steel
chains, iron bars and other instruments. He was left half unconscious and put in an
overcrowded cell where he remained for a week. On 9 August 2006, he was charged
with involvement in an attempted coup d’état, and transferred to a prison. Although in
critical condition, he was not allowed to see a doctor until 1 September 2006. He was
detained without legal basis for more than five months in appalling conditions. He was
released on 16 January 2007, having been acquitted. The Committee found a violation
of article 2 (1) of the Convention, read in conjunction with article 1, of articles 12, 13,
14, 15 and of article 16, read in conjunction with article 11, and urged Burundi to
conduct an impartial investigation and to provide adequate and fair compensation to
the complainant, including means for full rehabilitation.
75. In communication No. 511/2012, Z. v. Australia, the complainant argued that the
State party had violated article 14 of the Convention by failing to provide her with an
enforceable right to redress and compensation for the State -inflicted torture she
endured in China. The Committee observed that in the specific circumstances of the
case, the State party was unable to establish jurisdiction over officia ls of another State
for alleged acts committed outside the State party’s territory, and declared the
communication inadmissible.
20/24
GE.15-13195
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