CAT/C/21/D/88/1997
page 5
usually granted a temporary residence permit of up to six months and after
that they have to pay a daily fee to be able to stay in Jordan. Those who
cannot pay the fee or who are found without a valid passport are put in
custody while awaiting deportation. There are several cases known to Amnesty
International of Iraqis being detained and tortured in Iraq after deportation
from Jordan.
4.8
The State party also refers to the contents of the above-mentioned
letter of 27 March 1997 from UNHCR to the Advice Bureau for Asylum Seekers and
Refugees. In addition, it mentions the latest annual report on Jordan of the
United States Department of State, according to which since 1991 thousands of
Iraqis have sought asylum in Jordan, where they have been given assistance by
UNHCR. The report mentions, however, two cases of forced expulsion of Iraqis
to Iraq in 1997.
4.9
According to information received through diplomatic channels by the
State party, although Jordan has not ratified the 1951 Convention relating
to the Status of Refugees it has expressed its willingness to follow the
principles contained in that Convention and the Jordanian authorities seem to
have a particular understanding for the difficult situation of the Iraqis.
In spite of that, Iraqis who return from Europe are not welcome. Even though
the Jordanian authorities claim that Iraqis are only sent back to Iraq with
their voluntary written approval, it cannot be ruled out that some Iraqis have
been sent to Iraq against their will. Although Jordan can be characterized as
a rather safe country for Iraqi refugees, their situation may change from time
to time depending on the political situation. The relations between Jordan
and Iraq have recently been “normalized”, and this may affect the situation of
Iraqi refugees. According to UNHCR, if an Iraqi is returned to Jordan after
expulsion from Sweden and it is known to the Jordanian authorities that he has
been staying in Sweden, he will probably be expelled also from Jordan. Most
member States of the European Union do not seem to regard Jordan as a safe
third country for Iraqi citizens.
4.10 The State party indicates that the information referred to in the
previous paragraph was not available to the Swedish Immigration Board and the
Aliens Appeals Board when they made their decisions concerning the author’s
application for asylum. It can be inferred from it, however, that Iraqi
refugees in Jordan, in particular those who have been returned to Jordan from
a European country, are not entirely protected from being deported to Iraq.
4.11 With regard to the personal risk of being subjected to torture, the
State party notes that the author has not expressed any fear with respect to
Jordan. As for Iraq, in view of the human rights situation in that country
and taking into consideration, inter alia, the escape of the author's son from
military service and the treatment that the author allegedly received from the
Iraqi police during his stays in Iraq after leaving Kuwait, it can be said
that substantial grounds exist for believing that, if returned to Iraq, the
author would be in danger of being subjected to torture. The question that
remains to be considered is whether the author would run a real risk of being
deported to Iraq from Jordan. The State party abstains from making an
evaluation of its own.