national and international publicity which his particular case has received. For example, Amnesty International has issued an Urgent Action in the name of the author; Reuters news agency, the BBC Somali Service and other international media have reported on the suspension of the author’s expulsion following the request of the Committee; the independent expert of the Commission on Human Rights on the situation of human rights in Somalia has appealed in the author’s case and made reference to it both in her report to the Commission on Human Rights and in oral statements, indicating that “[a] case currently pending in Australia concerning a forced return to Mogadishu of a Somali national is particularly alarming, due to the precedent it will create in returning individuals to areas undergoing active conflict.”12 independent expert of the Commission on Human Rights on the situation of human rights in Somalia, UNHCR, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs of the United Nations and Amnesty International. Counsel further underlines that the author is a member of a minority clan and hence is recognized by all sources as belonging to a group at particular risk of becoming the victim of violations of human rights. The State party’s indication of the existence of an agreement between the Shikal and Hawiye clans affording some sort of protection to the Shikal is categorically refuted by counsel on the basis of information provided by reliable sources, and is considered as unreliable and impossible to corroborate. 5.15 Finally, counsel draws the attention of the author to the fact that although Somalia acceded to the Convention on 24 January 1990, it has not yet recognized the competence of the Committee to receive and consider communications from or on behalf of individuals under article 22. If returned to Somalia, the author would no longer have the possibility of applying to the Committee for protection. 5.12 Counsel also submits that the danger of torture faced by the author is further aggravated owing to the manner in which the State party intends to carry out his return. According to the return plan, the author is to be delivered into the custody of private security “escorts” in order to be flown to Nairobi via Johannesburg and then continue unescorted from Nairobi to Mogadishu. Counsel submits that if the author were to arrive unescorted in North Mogadishu, at an airport which tends to be used only by humanitarian relief agencies, warlords and smugglers and which is controlled by one of the clans hostile to the Shikal, he would be immediately identifiable as an outsider and would be at increased risk of torture. In this context counsel refers to written interventions from various non-governmental sources stating that a Somali arriving in Mogadishu without escort or help to get through the so-called “authorities” would in itself give rise to scrutiny. Issues and proceedings before the Committee 6.1 The Committee notes the information from the State party that the return of the author has been suspended, in accordance with the Committee’s request under rule 108, paragraph 9, of its rules of procedure. 6.2 Before considering any claims contained in a communication, the Committee against Torture must decide whether or not it is admissible under article 22 of the Convention. In this respect the Committee has ascertained, as it is required to do under article 22, paragraph 5 (a), of the Convention, that the same matter has not been and is not being examined under another procedure of international investigation or settlement. The Committee also notes that the exhaustion of domestic remedies is not contested by the State party. It further notes the State party’s view that the communication should be declared inadmissible ratione materiae on the basis that the Convention is not applicable to the facts alleged, since the acts the author will allegedly face if he is returned to Somalia do not fall within the definition of “torture” set out in article 1 of the Convention. The Committee, however, is of the opinion that the State party’s argument raises a substantive issue which should be dealt with at the merits and not the admissibility stage. Since the Committee sees no further obstacles to admissibility, it declares the communication admissible. 5.13 With reference to the State party’s comments regarding the author’s credibility, counsel underlines that throughout the author’s application for refugee status, the credibility of the author or his claims have never been an issue. RRT accepted the author’s case as claimed and clearly found the applicant a credible witness. 5.14 Counsel underlines that there is evidence of a consistent pattern of gross, flagrant or mass violations of human rights in Somalia, although the lack of security has seriously compromised the ability of human rights monitors to document comprehensively individual cases of human rights abuses, including torture. The absence of case studies concerning torture of persons with similar “risk characteristics” as the author cannot therefore lead to the conclusion that such abuses do not occur, in accordance with reports from inter alia the 6.3 Both the author and the State party have provided observations on the merits of the communication. The Committee will therefore proceed to examine those merits. 12 Oral statement on the situation of human rights in Somalia, delivered on 22 April 1999 before the Commission on Human Rights. 76