CAT/C/32/D/182/2001 Page 7 It therefore considers that the communication is admissible and proceeds to its examination on 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 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 complaints of torture are often not dealt with effectively by the police, judicial officers and doctors. However, the Committee equally notes the conclusion of a formal cease-fire agreement between the Government and the LTTE in February 2002. While recent political developments and changes in Government may have created impediments to the effective pursuit of the ongoing peace process, it remains that the process itself has not been abandoned. The Committee further recalls that, after conducting its inquiry on Sri Lanka under article 20 of the Convention, it concluded that the practice of torture was not systematic in the State party.4 The Committee finally notes that a large number of Tamil refugees have returned to Sri Lanka in recent years. 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 the complainant would run to be subjected to torture at the hand of the Sri Lankan security forces, the Committee has noted his claim that he was tortured, in 1997, by the EPRLF and TELO, which had operated in cooperation with the Sri Lankan army. Even if these allegations were assumed to be true, the Committee considers that it does not necessarily follow that the complainant would presently be at risk of being subjected to torture again, given the ongoing peace process in Sri Lanka and the fact that many Tamil refugees have to that country in recent years. 6.6 Insofar as the complainant argues that his post-traumatic stress disorder would result in uncontrolled reactions in stressful situations, thereby increasing the risk of his arrest by the Sri Lankan police, the Committee observes that the absence of any 4 Report A/57/44, Chapter IV.B, at para. 181.