CAT/C/71/D/790/2016
United Nations
Convention against Torture
and Other Cruel, Inhuman
or Degrading Treatment
or Punishment
Distr.: General
10 September 2021
Original: English
Committee against Torture
Decision adopted by the Committee under article 22 of the
Convention, concerning communication No. 790/2016*, **
Communication submitted by:
D.Z. (represented by counsel, Boris Wijkström
and Gabriella Tau, of Centre Suisse pour la
Défense des Droits des Migrants)
Alleged victim:
The complainant
State party:
Switzerland
Date of complaint:
1 December 2016 (initial submission)
Document references:
Decision taken pursuant to rules 114 and 115 of
the Committee’s rules of procedure, transmitted
to the State party on 7 December 2016
Date of adoption of decision:
27 July 2021
Subject matter:
Deportation to China
Procedural issues:
Examination of the same matter under another
procedure of international investigation or
settlement; exhaustion of domestic remedies
Substantive issue:
Risk of torture, if deported to country of origin
(non-refoulement)
Article of the Convention:
3
1.1
The complainant is D.Z., a national of China born in 1973. Her application for asylum
in Switzerland has been rejected and she risks deportation to China. She considers that her
return would constitute a violation by Switzerland of article 3 of the Convention. The State
party made the declaration under article 22 of the Convention on 2 December 1986. The
complainant is represented by counsel.
1.2
On 7 December 2016, in application of article 114 (1) of its rules of procedure, the
Committee, acting through its Rapporteur on new complaints and interim measures, asked
the State party not to deport the complainant to China while the Committee was examining
her complaint.
* Adopted by the Committee at its seventy-first session (12–30 July 2021).
** The following members of the Committee participated in the examination of the communication:
Essadia Belmir, Claude Heller, Erdoğan İşcan, Ana Racu, Diego Rodríguez-Pinzón, Sébastien Touzé,
Bakhtiyar Tuzmukhamedov and Peter Vedel Kessing. Pursuant to rule 109, read in conjunction with
rule 15, of the Committee’s rules of procedure, and paragraph 10 of the guidelines on the
independence and impartiality of members of the human rights treaty bodies (the Addis Ababa
guidelines), Liu Huawen did not participate in the examination of the communication.
GE.21-12669(E)