President considered that the author’s activities in support of UDPS had only been marginal and that he was not known as a political opponent. The complaint 3.1 The author claims that his forced return to Zaire would lead to him being killed because of his political activities. Counsel adds that he fears being detained and tortured upon return. 3.2 The author asks the Committee to request the Netherlands to take interim measures of protection and not to expel him while his communication is under consideration by the Committee. The State party’s observations on the admissibility and on the merits of the communication 4.1 In its submission, dated 22 January 1996, the State party acknowledges that X has exhausted domestic remedies, and does not raise any objections to the admissibility of the communication. In accordance with the request of the Committee. The author will not be expelled while his communication is under consideration by the Committee. 4.2 As to the merits, the State party begins by explaining the refugee determination process in the Netherlands. Asylum applications in the Netherlands are dealt with by the Immigration and Naturalization Service under the responsibility of the State Secretary for Justice. In addition to the information supplied by the individual, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, when assessing individual applications for asylum, also takes into consideration the findings of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs concerning the asylum seeker’s country of origin which are laid down in Ministry reports (ambtsberichten) as well as information supplied by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and organizations such as Amnesty International. 4.3 The State party states that decisions on asylum applications can be contested before five District Courts (rechtbanken). In addition a Legal Uniformity Division (rechtseenheidskamer)has been set up which has the task of promoting legal uniformity in the judgements and which has given a normative judgment in the case of Zaire, on 3 November 1994. 4.4 The State party states that if medical factors play a role in an asylum case, or if the asylum seeker concerned claims to have been ill-treated or tortured, the INS may request the Medical Inspector of the Ministry of Justice to give an opinion. The Medical Inspector himself may examine the individual or apply for information from a medical practitioner who has treated the individual. The State party adds that the individual himself can always request a further medical examination, or independently consult a medical practitioner. 4.5 The State party submits that the current conditions in Zaire give rise to concern but are not such as to justify the adoption of a general principle that asylum seekers whose applications have been rejected should not be repatriated. In support of its statement, the State party refers to the Committee’s views in communication No. 13/1993, a/ where the Committee held: "the existence of a consistent pattern of gross, flagrant or mass violations of human rights in a country does not as such constitute a sufficient ground for determining that a person would be in danger of being subjected to torture upon his return to that country; additional grounds must exist that indicate that the individual -77-