CCPR/C/119/D/2681/2015
1.1
The authors of the communication are Y.A.A., a man born on 3 December 1983, and
F.H.M, a woman born on 1 January 1980, both Somali nationals. The authors submit the
communication on their own behalf and on behalf of their four minor children: A was born
in 2009 in Italy; S was born in 2011 in Italy; SI was born in 2013 in Denmark; and AM was
born in 2014 in Denmark. The authors are Somali nationals seeking asylum in Denmark
and were scheduled, at the time of the submission of the communication, to be transferred
from Denmark to Italy within the Dublin II Regulation.1 The authors claim that their
deportation to Italy would put them and their children at a risk of inhuman and degrading
treatment in violation of article 7 of the Covenant. The authors are represented by the
Danish Refugee Council. The first Optional Protocol to the Covenant entered into force for
Denmark on 23 March 1976.
1.2
On 18 November 2015, 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 to refrain from deporting the authors to Italy while their case was
under consideration by the Committee.
1.3
On 13 July 2016, the Committee, acting through the Special Rapporteur, denied the
State party’s request to lift the interim measures.
The facts as submitted by the authors
2.1
The authors originate from Mogadishu. F.H.M. originates from the Reer Barawe
minority clan and Y.A.A. from the Asraf clan. Both are Muslim. They have four children:
the oldest two were born in Italy and the youngest two were born in Denmark.
2.2
The authors fled Somalia together in 2008. F.H.M. fled Somalia after having being
subjected to serious harassment owing to her belonging to a minority clan. She claims that
her family had been contacted and harassed by clan militia, police and government forces.
Y.A.A. fled Somalia owing to a conflict with the Somali authorities and Ethiopian military.
He had worked for a Somali television station and, on one occasion, had edited video
recordings and pictures of Ethiopian soldiers who had been killed, which were to be
broadcasted on the news. Subsequently, he was threatened by an unknown person on
several occasions that he would be killed or imprisoned, and accused of being responsible
for the broadcast. The authors also fear that their daughters will be subjected to female
genital mutilation upon return.
2.3
The authors arrived in Italy in October 2008. Upon arrival in Lampedusa, the
authors were accommodated in asylum reception facilities in Bari for a few months. The
authors were granted subsidiary protection in January 2009. Their residence permit, which
expired on 25 March 2013, has not been renewed, since by that time the authors were
residing in Denmark.
2.4
After being granted the residence permit, the authors were ordered to leave the
reception facilities in Bari and hand in their asylum identification cards, which had given
them access to food in the reception facilities. They were not given any assistance or advice
on how to settle or where to go in Italy on a temporary or permanent basis and were advised
to leave for other European countries.2 Facing homelessness, the authors travelled to
Finland early in 2009.3 After four months, the Finnish authorities returned them to Rome.4
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2
3
2
At the time of the communication, the counsel of the authors had been informed that it was planned to
deport the family to Italy "within a few weeks".
In their submission, the authors stated that they had asked the staff for help and were advised to leave
for other European countries. No further information is available on the staff.
The date was not specified in the submission. However, in the translated version of the decision of the