CCPR/C/112/D/2053/2011
Appendices
Appendix I
[Original: English]
Joint opinion of Committee members Gerald L. Neuman
and Yuji Iwasawa (concurring)
We concur fully with the Committee’s Views. We write separately merely to point
out that the Committee’s discussion in paragraph 7.4 reflects the well-established principle
of the “internal flight alternative”, a basic rule of international refugee law as well as
international human rights law. Individuals are not in need of international protection if
they can avail themselves of the protection of their own State; if resettling within the State
would enable them to avoid a localized risk, and resettling would not be unreasonable under
the circumstances, then returning them to a place where they can live in safety does not
violate the principle of non-refoulement. See, for example, communication No. 1897/2009,
S.Y.L. v. Australia, inadmissibility decision of 24 July 2013, para. 8.4; Sufi and Elmi v. the
United Kingdom, Applications. Nos. 8319/07 and 11449/07 (European Court of Human
Rights, 2011), para. 266; and Omeredo v. Austria, Application No. 8969/10 (European
Court of Human Rights 2011) (inadmissibility decision).
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