CAT/C/31/D/186/2001 Page 8 6.1 Before considering any claim contained in a communication, the Committee against Torture must decide whether or not it is admissible under article 22 of the Convention. 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. In the present case, the Committee also notes that all domestic remedies have been exhausted and that the State party has not objected to the admissibility of the communication. It therefore considers that the communication is admissible and proceeds to the examination to the merits of the case. 6.2 The Committee must decide whether the forced return of the complainant to Sri Lanka would violate the State party's obligation, under article 3, paragraph 1, of the Convention, not to expel or return (refouler) an individual to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to torture. In reaching its conclusion, the Committee must take into account all relevant considerations, including the existence, in the State concerned, of a consistent pattern of gross, flagrant or mass violations of human rights (article 3, paragraph 2, of the Convention). 6.3 The Committee has taken note of the reports cited by the complainant as well as the State party, which deny or confirm significant improvements in the protection of the rights of Tamils during identity controls, arrest and detention in Sri Lanka. The Committee notes from recent reports on the human rights situation in Sri Lanka that, although efforts have been made to eradicate torture, instances of torture continue to be reported, and that complaints of torture are often not dealt with effectively by police, magistrates and doctors. However, the Committee equally notes the ongoing peace process in Sri Lanka which led to the conclusion of the cease-fire agreement between the Government and the LTTE of February 2002, and the negotiations between the parties to the conflict which have taken place since. The Committee further recalls that, on the basis of the proceedings concerning its inquiry on Sri Lanka under article 20 of the Convention, it concluded that the practice of torture is not systematic in the State party.4 The Committee finally notes that a large number of Tamil refugees returned to Sri Lanka in 2001 and 2002.5 6.4 The Committee recalls, however, that the aim of its examination is to determine whether the complainant would personally risk torture in the country to which he would return. It follows that, irrespective of whether a consistent pattern of gross, flagrant or mass violations of human rights can be said to exist in Sri Lanka, such existence would not as such constitute sufficient grounds for determining that the complainant would be in danger of being subjected to torture upon his return to Sri Lanka. Additional grounds must be adduced to show that he would be personally at risk. Conversely, the absence of a consistent pattern of gross violations of human rights does not necessarily mean that the complainant cannot be considered to be in danger of being subjected to torture in the specific circumstances of his case. 6.5 As regards the personal risk of the complainant to be subjected to torture at the hands of the Sri Lankan security forces, the Committee has noted his claim that the fact that he was arrested and tortured in the past as a suspected LTTE activist, as well as the aftereffects of this torture, would expose him to an increased risk of renewed arrest and torture, 4 5 Report A/57/44, Chapter IV.B, at para. 181. See Communication No. 191/2001, S. S. v. the Netherlands, Decision adopted on 5 May 2003, at para. 6.3.