CAT/C/21/D/110/1998
page 6
5.7
The author maintains that the State party has violated the obligation
“to refrain” imposed on it by article 3 of the Convention. This makes it
an obligation for the State party to take measures to prevent acts of
torture from being committed against the author for the duration of the
custodial penalty imposed by the Peruvian authorities or for as long as the
Peruvian Government in any way prohibits her from leaving the country as a
result of the charges which led to the proceedings against her. The State
party therefore has to establish suitable machinery to follow up the
conditions which it imposed and which were accepted by the Peruvian
authorities.
Issues and proceedings before the Committee
6.1
Before examining any complaint contained in a communication, the
Committee against Torture must determine whether it is admissible under
article 22 of the Convention. The Committee has ascertained that, as required
under article 22, paragraph 5 (a), the same matter has not been, and is not
being, examined under another procedure of international investigation or
settlement. The Committee notes that the State party has not submitted
objections to the admissibility of the communication and is of the opinion
that, in view of the Supreme Court's decision declaring inadmissible the
application for amparo against the sentence of extradition, all available
domestic remedies have been exhausted. The Committee therefore concludes that
there are no reasons why the communication should not be declared admissible.
Since both the State party and the author have submitted observations on the
merits of the communication, the Committee will consider it as to the merits.
6.2
The question that must be elucidated by the Committee is whether the
author's extradition to Peru would violate the obligation assumed by the State
party under article 3 of the Convention not to extradite a person to another
State where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in
danger of being subjected to torture.
6.3
The Committee must then decide whether there are well-founded reasons
for believing that the author would be in danger of being subjected to torture
on her return to Peru. In accordance with article 3, paragraph 2, of the
Convention, the Committee should take account, for the purpose of determining
whether there are such grounds, of all relevant considerations, including,
where applicable, the existence in the State concerned of a consistent pattern
of gross, flagrant or mass violations of human rights. However, the existence
of a pattern of this nature does not in itself constitute a sufficient reason
for deciding whether the person in question is in danger of being subjected to
torture on her return to this country; there must be specific reasons for
believing that the person concerned is personally in danger. Similarly, the
absence of this pattern does not mean that a person is not in danger of being
subjected to torture in her specific case.
6.4
When considering the periodic reports of Peru, 1 the Committee received
numerous allegations from reliable sources concerning the use of torture by
law enforcement officials in connection with the investigation of the offences
of terrorism and treason with a view to obtaining information or a confession.
The Committee therefore considers that, in view of the nature of the
accusations made by the Peruvian authorities in requesting the extradition and