CCPR/C/114/D/2360/2014 2.15 The author suffers from asthma, a condition that she developed from living in the street in Italy. She is dependent on medication for that condition and was hospitalized in Denmark when she failed to inhale her medication in time. 2.16 The author claims that she exhausted all domestic remedies in Denmark, when the negative decision, dated 6 February 2014, was handed down by the Danish Refugee Appeals Board as that decision is final and cannot be appealed before another court. The author contends that the Danish Refugee Appeals Board based its negative decision on the fact that she had received a temporary residence permit in Italy, when she first entered that country, owing to situation in Somalia and that she could enter Italy and reside there legally while applying to renew her residence permit. The Board stated that there was not a “fully sufficient basis” for not referring to Italy as the first European Union country of asylum in the author’s case. However, the Board did note that “the majority of [the members of ] the Refugee Appeals Board had found that the background information regarding the conditions for asylum seekers who received temporary residence permits in Italy to some extent supported concerns that the humanitarian conditions for this group were approaching a level where it would no longer be secure to refer to Italy as the first country of asylum. The complaint 3.1 The author submits that, by forcibly returning her and her children to Italy, the Danish authorities would violate their rights under article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.3 She submits that reception conditions in Italy and basic human standards for refugees with valid or expired residence permits do not comply with international obligations of protection.4 On that issue, the author cites a report which states that international protection seekers returning to Italy who had already been granted a form of protection and benefitted from the reception system when they were in Italy were not entitled to accommodation in the reception facilities in Italy.5 She maintains that her experience indicates systemic failures regarding basic support for asylum seekers and refugees in Italy, especially members of vulnerable groups, and that she and her children would likely face homelessness, destitution and very limited access to medical care if transferred to Italy. She asserts that asylum seekers in Italy experience severe difficulties accessing health services.6 She asserts that, in view of that situation, Italy does not currently meet the necessary humanitarian standards for the principle of first country of asylum to be applied. 3 4 5 6 The author cites European Court of Human Rights, M.S.S. v. Belgium and Greece, application No. 30696/09, judgement adopted on 15 December 2010; and Mohammad Hussein and Others v. the Netherlands and Italy, application No. 27725/10, decision adopted on 2 April 2013. The author refers to the Swiss Refugee Council (OSAR), Reception conditions in Italy: Report on the current situation of asylum seekers and beneficiaries of protection, in particular Dublin returnees (October 2013), p. 11; Asylum Information Database (AIDA), Country report: Italy, May 2013, p. 34; Council of Europe, “Report by Nils Muiznieks, Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, following his visit to Italy from 3 to 6 July 2012”, 18 September 2012 (CommDH(2012)26), p. 150. The author cites European Network for technical cooperation of the application of the Dublin II Regulation, Dublin II Regulation - National report on Italy, 19 December 2012, available from www.dublin-project.eu/dublin/Dublin-news/New-report-Dublin-II-regulation-lives-on-hold; AIDA, Country report: Italy, May 2013, p. 37; United States of America, Department of State, “Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2012: Italy13); OSAR, Reception conditions in Italy(see note 4), pp. 4-5; and Jesuit Refugee Service Europe, Protection Interrupted: The Dublin Regulation’s impact on asylum seekers’ protection, June 2013, pp. 152 and 161. The author cites CommDH(2012)26 (see note 4), p. 143 ; and OSAR, Reception conditions in Italy (see note 4). 5