CEDAW/C/51/D/25/2010
l’inceste and a detailed affidavit from the director of the FCJ Refugee Centre. Furthermore,
the author claims that the PRRA simply used the arguments which were put forward by the
Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB) without conducting its own
comprehensive review. According to the author, 98 to 99 per cent of PRRA appeals are
currently rejected. She argues that, in support of her application for judicial review, which
was rejected on 18 January 2010, she had submitted new conclusive evidence, such as
letters from Televisa in Mexico and many pieces of medical and psychological evidence.
The case law of the Federal Court of Canada regarding the lack of protection for women in
Mexico attests to the risk she faced.
3.4
The author also invokes article 2 (d), which guarantees protection against any act or
practice of discrimination by public authorities and institutions. She alleges that, by
exposing her to a risk of, at the very least, being detained in inhumane conditions and, at
worst, the likelihood of being killed by her former spouse or his friends from the judicial
police, the State party has not complied with its obligation to ensure her protection.
3.5
Article 3, which guarantees the exercise and enjoyment of human rights and
fundamental freedoms, was also allegedly violated, since the decision to deport her to
Mexico exposed her to torture carried out with impunity.
3.6
The author considers that the State party has violated article 15 and her right to
equality before the law, because her situation as a vulnerable woman was not a factor in the
decision taken by the Canadian authorities.
3.7
Lastly, the author claims a violation of article 16 although she does not put forward
any argument in support of this claim.
State party’s observations on admissibility
4.1
In its observations of 6 December 2010, the State party challenged the admissibility
of the communication under article 4, paragraphs 1 and 2, of the Optional Protocol.
4.2
Firstly, the State party argues that the communication is inadmissible because it is
now moot, given that the author has returned to Mexico of her own accord. The primary
remedy for which the communication was submitted, namely the request that Canada
should not deport the author, is now moot. Secondly, the State party argues that domestic
remedies have not been exhausted, as the author has not applied for visa exemption and
permanent resident status in Canada on humanitarian grounds. Thirdly, the State party
submits that the right claimed by the author — namely the right not to be deported to a
country where there are grounds for believing that the person would face a real risk of a
violation of the right to life, torture, or a violation of the right to protection against any
cruel or unusual punishment — is not provided for in the Convention. The State party
considers that the Convention should not be interpreted as granting this right.
4.3
Fourthly, the State party maintains that the author’s allegations concerning the risk
of gender-based violence that she would face if she were returned to Mexico were
thoroughly examined by the Canadian authorities, who concluded that the author’s
allegations were unfounded and that there is no evidence in the communication before the
Committee to change that conclusion. Lastly, the State party considers that the
communication is not sufficiently substantiated for the purposes of admissibility, given that
the author has not demonstrated that the Canadian system for processing applications for
refugee status and the remedies before the Canadian courts are pointless and ineffective.
4.4
The author has explained to the Canadian authorities her reasons for leaving Mexico
with her son on 17 November 2006. In the personal information form submitted to the
Immigration and Refugee Board on 12 December 2006, the author claimed that since 1998
her spouse had become increasingly aggressive. On 15 January 2000 he allegedly hit her,
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