CAT/C/22/D/120/1998 page 8 4.17 The State party notes that in the course of the asylum procedure, the author has not provided factual evidence to support his claims. Furthermore, the State party does not accept that, even if those assertions were correct, they necessarily would lead to the conclusion that he would be subjected to “torture” as defined in the Convention. In making this assessment, the State party has taken into account the jurisprudence of the Committee establishing that a person must show that he or she faces a real, foreseeable and personal risk of being subjected to torture, as well as the existence of a consistent pattern of gross, flagrant or mass violations of human rights. 4.18 The State party does not deny that the attacks on the author’s father, brother and sister occurred as described by the author, nor that at that time and immediately afterwards the author may have felt particularly vulnerable to attacks by the Hawiye clan and that this fear may have caused the author to flee Mogadishu (but not Somalia). However, there is no evidence that the author, at present, would face a threat from the Hawiye clan if he were returned to Somalia. Moreover, in the absence of any details or corroborating evidence of his alleged escapes and in the absence of any evidence or allegations to the effect that the author has previously been tortured, it must be concluded that the author remained in Somalia in relative safety throughout the conflict. The State party points out that it is incumbent upon the author of a communication to present a factual basis for his allegations. In the present case the author has failed to adduce sufficient evidence of an ongoing and real threat of torture by the Hawiye against him and other members of the Shikal clan. 4.19 The State party accepts that there has been a consistent pattern of gross, flagrant or mass violations of human rights in Somalia and that, throughout the armed conflict, members of small, unaligned and unarmed clans, like the Shikal, have been more vulnerable to human rights violations than members of the larger clans. However, through diplomatic channels, the State party has been informed that the general situation in Somalia has improved over the past year and, although random violence and human rights violations continue and living conditions remain difficult, civilians are largely able to go about their daily business. The State party has also been informed by its embassy in Nairobi that a small community of Shikal still resides in Mogadishu and that its members are apparently able to practise their trade and have no fear of being attacked by stronger clans. However, as an unarmed clan, they are particularly vulnerable to looters. Although the Shikal, including members of the author’s family, may have been targeted by the Hawiye in the early stages of the Somali conflict, they have at present a harmonious relationship with the Hawiye in Mogadishu and elsewhere, affording a measure of protection to Shikal living there. 4.20 The State party points out that it has also considered the issue of whether the author would risk being targeted by other clans than the Hawiye. It states that it is prepared to accept that certain members of unarmed clans and others in Somalia suffer abuse at the hands of other Somali inhabitants. Further, the author may be more vulnerable to such attacks as he is a member of an unarmed clan whose members are generally believed to be wealthy. However, the State party does not believe that the author’s membership of such a clan is sufficient to put him at a greater risk than other Somali civilians. In fact, the State party believes that many Somalis face the same risk. That