CAT/C/48/D/370/2009
recalls that it is generally incumbent upon the complainant to present an arguable case and
that the risk of torture must be assessed on grounds that go beyond mere theory or
suspicion.
8.6
The Committee notes that the complainant has not adduced evidence of a real,
personal and foreseeable risk of torture after his removal to Haiti. Indeed, the complainant
made a series of allegations that he was at risk of being tortured, but provided no persuasive
evidence to corroborate the allegations, be they of kidnapping, the risk of torture or the risk
of violation of the right to life while in detention. Furthermore, all the allegations submitted
by the complainant were examined by the State party’s authorities during the asylum
procedure and in the proceedings before the Committee. With regard to the complainant’s
health, the State party has looked into the availability in Haiti of treatment appropriate for
the applicant. The situation does not fall within the scope of article 1, and in respect of the
risk to his health, cannot on its own fall under the scope of article 16 of the Convention.19
The Committee also notes that the State party took this allegation seriously and carried out
the necessary checks before proceeding with the complainant’s removal. The Committee
further notes that following his return to Haiti on 22 August 2011 the complainant was
briefly detained, and did not submit any allegations of torture or ill-treatment to the
Committee.
8.7
The Committee recalls that in accordance with its general comment on
implementation of article 3 of the Convention, and with its jurisprudence, the State party
does not have to show, when assessing the risk of torture in the case of a person being
removed to a third country, that the risk is “highly probable”, but it must be personal and
present. In this regard, in previous decisions the Committee has determined that the risk of
torture must be foreseeable, real and personal. Further, the Committee observes that
considerable weight will be given, in exercising the Committee’s jurisdiction pursuant to
article 3 of the Convention, to findings of fact that are made by organs of the State party
concerned. It must therefore be determined whether, at the time of assessing the risk run by
the complainant, the State party carried out a thorough assessment of the complainant’s
allegations and took into account all the elements enabling it to assess the risk that was run.
The Committee considers that in the present case the State party carried out the assessment
in accordance with these principles.20
8.8
The Committee considers that the information submitted to the Committee does not
show that the complainant ran a foreseeable, real and personal risk of being subjected to
torture following his return to his country of origin.
9.
The Committee against Torture, acting under article 22, paragraph 7, of the
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment, therefore concludes that the deportation of the complainant to Haiti does not
constitute a breach of article 3 of the Convention.
[Adopted in English, French, Russian and Spanish, the French text being the original
version. Subsequently to be issued also in Arabic and Chinese as part of the Committee’s
annual report to the General Assembly.]
19
20
12
Communication No. 245/2004, S.S.S. v. Canada, para. 7.3.
See general comment No. 1 on implementation of article 3 of the Convention in the context of article
22 (refoulement and communications) (1996), paras. 6, 7 and 9 (a) and, inter alia, communication No.
356/2008, N.S. v. Switzerland, decision adopted on 6 May 2010, para. 7.3.
GE.12-43638