CAT/C/30/D/198/2002
page 4
consistent pattern of human rights violations committed by Sudanese authorities, and refers to
reports by human rights non-governmental organizations, and documents of the United Nations
Commission on Human Rights.
The State party’s observations on the admissibility and merits
4.1
By note verbale dated 11 March 2002, the State party informed the Committee that it
does not object to the admissibility of the petition. The State party presented its observations on
the merits of the petition on 9 July 2002.
4.2
The State party contends that the petitioner’s return would not violate its obligations
under article 3 of the Convention. It gives a detailed description of the national proceedings in
the case. Admission and expulsion of aliens are regulated by the 1965 Aliens Act, the Aliens
Decree, the Regulation of Aliens and the 1994 Aliens Act Implementation Guidelines.1
4.3
The first interview of an asylum-seeker takes place as soon as possible. It is conducted
on the basis of a form on which the asylum-seeker fills in relevant data. At this stage he is not
asked about the reasons for leaving his country of origin. This interview is followed by a second
one which focuses on the reasons for leaving the country of origin. The asylum-seeker or his
representative receive a copy of the report made by the interviewing officer, and have at least
two days to submit corrections or additions. A decision is then made by an Immigration and
Naturalisation Service (INS) official on behalf of the State Secretary for Justice.
4.4
If an application for admission as refugee or for a residence permit is denied, the
asylum-seeker may lodge an objection. The decision is reviewed by a committee, which
interviews the asylum-seeker. If the objection is declared unfounded, an appeal can be
lodged with the Hague District Court, with no possible further appeal, as provided under
the 1965 Aliens Act.2
4.5
The State party affirms that the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs issues periodically
country reports3 on the human rights situation in Sudan. According to the Sudan report of
September 1998, after the coup led by General Omar Hassan al-Bashir on 30 June 1989, all
political parties were banned, the leaders left the country or continued their political activities
in hiding. The National Islamic Front (NIF) remained the only influential political force.
Since 1993, Omar Hassan al-Bashir has been the President of Sudan. The NIF has a large
majority in parliament. The report noted that arbitrary arrests and detention without charge were
current. Supporters of banned political parties, trade union officials, lawyers and human rights
activists were among the potential victims. Members of these groups had been known to
“disappear”, ending up in the security services’ “ghost houses”, or being harassed in other ways
by the security services.
4.6
The State party argues that according to the above report, political prisoners were mainly
detained in the Khartoum North Central Prison (Kober prison). By European standards, the
living conditions in that prison were poor, but the prohibition of torture was respected. The
military and security services had their own detention centres, where torture and detention
without charge were frequent. “Ghost houses” were unofficial detention centres, not subjected to