CCPR/C/114/D/2428/2014
1.3
On 19 June 2014, pursuant to rule 92 of its rules of procedure, the Committee, acting
through its Special Rapporteur on new communications and interim measures, requested
the State party not to deport the author and her children to Italy while their case was under
consideration by the Committee.
1.4
On 28 January 2015, the Committee, acting through its Special Rapporteur on new
communications and interim measures, decided to deny the State party’s request of lifting
the interim measures.1
The facts as presented by the author
2.1
The author originates from Mogadishu. She is 31 years old and belongs to the
Habergidir clan. She is Muslim. She has two daughters, F.A.A., born on 19 April 2005, and
M.A.H.H., born on 6 July 2012. In 2006, she divorced her former husband, the father of
F.A.A. She fled Somalia out of fear of the Al-Shabaab militia. The author sold tea at the
Parkara market, in the government-controlled area of Mogadishu. In 2008, she was
threatened by members of Al-Shabaab, who accused her of being a spy for the Government
and demanded that she stop selling tea as women should not work in public places. They
further threatened to pass an Islamic judgement against her. After the author fled Somalia,
Al-Shabaab looked for her and threatened her parents to give information about her current
whereabouts.
2.2
The author left Somalia alone, leaving her daughter behind, and reached Italy on 13
October 2008. Upon arrival, she was accommodated in a reception camp near Rome, where
she lived until April 2009, when she received subsidiary protection and a corollary
residence permit for three years, which was renewed in April 2012 until 9 April 2015.
2.3
The day after she received her residence permit, the author was informed that she
could no longer stay in the shelter and was asked to leave. As she was offered neither an
alternative solution or temporary shelter, nor any assistance finding work or more stable
housing, the author was left homeless. On occasion, she would be hosted by private
individuals or in churches near Sienna. In August 2009, she moved into an apartment close
to Florence, together with other Somali refugees, where she lived for three years. The
apartment was overcrowded and, as the tenants could not afford to pay for electricity or
water, the conditions were insalubrious and unhygienic.
2.4
The author looked for work on a daily basis. In August 2009, she started working as
a cleaner, including in a biscuit factory for six months. She then worked as a cleaner in
private homes from 2010 to 2012. During periods of unemployment, she would turn to the
church for food assistance.
2.5
In 2010, the author married her second husband, who resided in Ethiopia.
2.6
In February 2011, the author reunited with her daughter, with the help of a local
Italian family and the Italian authorities. Her daughter was issued a residence permit with
the same expiry date as the author’s. The author was informed by the municipality that she
could not register her daughter in school, because she lacked a formal address and
permanent housing. Furthermore, the author could not afford to pay the school bus fare.
2.7
As the author found the situation desperate in Italy, she travelled to Ethiopia in
October 2011, to unite with her husband. She stayed in Ethiopia for two months, but
returned to Italy to find employment. Returning from Ethiopia, the author was pregnant.
Living in Italy as a single, pregnant woman, with only occasional work, while caring for a
1
Communicated as part of the State party’s observations on admissibility and merits, dated 19
December 2014.
3