CCPR/C/124/D/2734/2016
1.2
On 18 February 2016, pursuant to rule 92 of its rules of procedure, the Committee,
acting through its the Special Rapporteur on new communications and interim measures,
requested the State party to refrain from deporting the author and her child to Italy while
their case was under consideration by the Committee. On 8 December 2017, the Special
Rapporteur decided to deny the State party’s request to lift interim measures.
The facts as submitted by the author
2.1
The author fled Somalia in 2008 and applied for asylum upon arrival in Lampedusa,
Italy, on 23 August 2008. She was transferred to an asylum centre, where she stayed for
approximately one year while her asylum application was being processed. In 2009, the
author was granted subsidiary protection by the Italian authorities and issued a residence
permit valid for three years. The residence permit expired in 2012, but was renewed until 9
April 2015.
2.2
When the author received the residence permit, she was informed by the staff that
she could no longer stay at the reception centre. She was only 17 years old. For a long
period of time, she spent the night at a “help centre” shelter, where she could stay if they
had a place for her. If she arrived too late or there was no more room, she had to sleep on
the streets. The author actively sought help from the Italian authorities and tried to find a
job, without success.1 She was therefore completely dependent on the help of the volunteers
at the help centre and the one meal a day she received there.
2.3
The author was allegedly harassed by young people in the street. 2 She also witnessed
how other young women were attacked if they tried to defend themselves against such
harassment and slurs. Although she lived for several years in Italy, the author’s situation
was in no way sustainable. In the absence of a long-term solution, she decided to leave for
Denmark in 2015 when she discovered that she had family living there.
2.4
The author entered Denmark on 7 June 2015 and applied for asylum three days later.
She was already pregnant when she arrived in Denmark, and on 27 November 2015 she
gave birth to a boy.3 The author’s mother, father and six siblings all have residence permits
in Denmark. They have all been a great support to the author in Denmark and help her in
taking care of her child.
2.5
On 22 December 2015, the Danish Immigration Service dismissed the author’s
asylum application because she had a residence permit in Italy. On 11 February 2016, the
Danish Refugee Appeals Board upheld that decision.
The complaint
3.1
The author submits that, by forcibly returning her and her child to Italy, the Danish
authorities would violate her and her son’s rights under article 7 of the Covenant. She fears
that, upon return to Italy she will end up alone with her son, which will be extremely
difficult to manage. She does not know how she will be able to provide for her son when
she is not even able to provide for herself. She will face even harder challenges than the
first time, because she now has a child to support. Her residence permit has expired and her
son is not registered in Italy because he was born in Denmark. Based on her experience, it
will be even harder for her to have access to support from the Italian authorities.
1
2
3
2
No further information was provided by the author in relation to this statement.
They allegedly told her “Why don’t you go back home, you monkey” or threw soda cans at her when
they passed by her on their motorcycles.
The author submits that she does not have a good relationship with the father of her son – who is still
in Italy – because he does not want to assume the role of father. He feels that he is not able to live up
to his responsibilities, as he cannot provide for the family. He does not have a job or a home.
Sometimes he sleeps in a shelter, other times on the streets and, whenever possible, he stays with
someone he knows. In her asylum screening interview of 23 July 2015, the author declared that she
had been married to the father of her son since 17 December 2014. Her spouse was also from
Mogadishu, but they met in Italy, as they were living in the same neighbourhood. The interview
minutes also mention that the author had regular telephone contact with her spouse.
GE.19-02298