CCPR/C/118/D/2204/2012 consider that the facts of the communication raise issues under this article of the Covenant. The Committee is therefore of the opinion that this part of the communication is not substantiated and is inadmissible under article 2 of the Optional Protocol. 10.10 The Committee therefore declares the communication admissible, insofar as it appears to raise issues under articles 7 and 18 of the Covenant and proceeds with its consideration of the merits. Consideration of the merits 11.1 The Committee has considered the communication in the light of all the information made available to it by the parties, as provided under article 5 (1) of the Optional Protocol. 11.2 The Committee notes the author’s claim that as a person affiliated with Falun Gong, she would face persecution, imprisonment and torture if she were forcibly returned to China and that she would only be able to live in China if she continued not to practise her religion in public. It also notes the State party’s observations that the Refugee Appeals Board accepted as facts the author’s statements as regards her detention by the Chinese police owing to her practice of Falun Gong, but could not accept her statement of being wanted by the Chinese authorities at the time of her departure from China. 11.3 The Committee recalls its general comment No. 31 (2004) on the nature of the general legal obligation imposed on States parties to the Covenant (para. 12), in which it refers to the obligation of States parties not to extradite, deport, expel or otherwise remove a person from their territory when there are substantial grounds for believing that there is a real risk of irreparable harm, such as that contemplated in articles 6 and 7 of the Covenant. The Committee has also indicated that the risk must be personal12 and that there is a high threshold for providing substantial grounds for establishing that a real risk of irreparable harm exists. Thus, all relevant facts and circumstances must be considered, including the general human rights situation in the author’s country of origin.13 11.4 The Committee also recalls its jurisprudence that important weight should be given to the assessment conducted by the State party’s authorities and that it is generally for the organs of States parties to the Covenant to examine the facts and evidence of the case in order to determine whether such a risk exists, unless it can be established that the assessment was arbitrary or amounted to a manifest error or denial of justice. 14 11.5 In that context, the Committee notes the author’s assertion that the State party’s authorities have failed to assess as a risk factor what would happen to her if she returned to China and openly practised Falun Gong. While noting that there are reports of serious human rights violations in China against Falun Gong practitioners, especially those who hold a prominent position in the movement, the Committee observes, however, that the author’s asylum application was thoroughly examined by the State party’s authorities, which found that she did not demonstrate an actual commitment to the practice of Falun Gong as a matter of religious or political conviction. In addition, it appeared that the author had become interested in Christianity during her stay in Denmark and was considering being baptized. The Refugee Appeals Board also found that the author had made inconsistent and embellished statements about crucial parts of her motives for seeking asylum, including her departure and the reason for it. In particular, the author was not able to describe in detail why she, who had not practised Falun Gong in public or carried out 12 13 14 See, inter alia, communication No. 2393/2014, K. v. Denmark, Views adopted on 16 July 2015, para. 7.3, and communication No. 2272/2013, P.T. v. Denmark, Views adopted on 1 April 2015, para. 7.2. See, inter alia, X v. Denmark, para. 9.2, and communication No. 1833/2008, X v. Sweden, Views adopted on 1 November 2011, para. 5.18. See, inter alia, X v. Denmark, para. 9.2, P.T. v. Denmark, para. 7.3, and X v. Sweden, para. 5.18. 11