CRC/C/80/D/4/2016 Spanish authorities have recognized the author as a minor under the guardianship of the Community of Madrid without there having been any violation of his rights at the time of submission of the communication. The State party cites the case of R.L. v. Spain,29 in which the Committee decided to discontinue consideration of the communication because it was proved that the author was already considered and treated as a minor by the Spanish authorities. 8.3 Lastly, the State party submits that there was no violation of the Convention. Author’s comments on the State party’s observations on admissibility and the merits 9.1 In his comments of 31 July 2018, the author reiterates his arguments regarding the admissibility and the merits of the communication. 30 He submits that the State party refers only to questions of fact, omitting to comment on any of his arguments concerning alleged violations of the Convention or the evidence adduced to substantiate such violations. In addition, the State party changes its version of the facts in each of its observations. In particular, the State party does not provide any evidence to support its claim that the author is a different person from the person reported to have been deported on 2 December 2014, even though it has fingerprints taken at the temporary reception centre for migrants in Melilla under the name Y.D. and fingerprints taken at the Registry of Unaccompanied Foreign Minors under the name D.D., which could have been compared in order to prove that the person in each case is one and the same. The State party cannot invoke inaccuracies in its own registration system as an argument against the author. 9.2 The author notes that the Committee has expressed concern about the State party’s practice of automatically returning children seeking international protection in the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla, without respecting the necessary guarantees. 31 He adds that the Committee has urged Spain “to ensure throughout its territory the effective legal protection of unaccompanied children and to ensure that the principle of nonrefoulement is applied and that the best interests of the child are taken into account as a primary consideration”32 and “to put an end to the practice of automatic refoulement of some children, ensuring that all procedures and criteria are in accordance with their status as children and with national and international legislation”.33 9.3 The author claims that the Committee’s reasoning in R.L. v. Spain, a case involving the age assessment of an unaccompanied child, is not applicable to the present communication. He submits that there are no grounds for the Committee to decide not to consider the present communication. 29 30 31 32 33 8 The State party provides a copy of the Committee’s decision in R.L. v. Spain (CRC/C/77/D/18/2017). The author notes that the general comments recently issued by the Committee and other treaty bodies specify the content of the violations alleged in the present communication. The author cites, in particular, joint general comment No. 3 (2017) of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and No. 22 (2017) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on the general principles regarding the human rights of children in the context of international migration, paras. 12 and 46; general comment No. 4 (2018) of the Committee against Torture on the implementation of article 3 of the Convention in the context of article 22; and joint general comment No. 4 (2017) of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and No. 23 (2017) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on State obligations regarding the human rights of children in the context of international migration in countries of origin, transit, destination and return. The author refers to the Committee’s concluding observations on the combined fifth and sixth periodic reports of Spain (CRC/C/ESP/CO/5-6), para. 44 (d). Ibid., para. 45 (a). Ibid., para. 45 (d). GE.19-07971