CAT/C/22/D/120/1998 page 12 a Somali national is particularly alarming, due to the precedent it will create in returning individuals to areas undergoing active conflict.” 12 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. 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 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. 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.