CAT/C/25/D/144/1999
page 2
Having taken into account all information made available to it by the author of the
communication and the State party,
Adopts its Views under article 22, paragraph 7, of the Convention.
1.1
The author of the communication is Mr. A.M., born in 1974 and a citizen of Chad.
He is currently residing in Switzerland, where he applied for asylum on 19 October 1998. His
application having been turned down, he maintains that his forcible repatriation to Chad would
constitute a violation by Switzerland of article 3 of the Convention against Torture.
1.2
In accordance with article 22, paragraph 3, of the Convention, the Committee brought the
communication to the attention of the State party on 4 October 1999. At the same time, the
Committee, pursuant to rule 108, paragraph 9, of its rules of procedure, requested the State party
not to expel the author to Chad while his communication was under consideration. In a
submission dated 26 November 1999, the State party informed the Committee that measures had
been taken to ensure that the author was not returned to Chad while his case was pending before
the Committee.
The facts as submitted by the author
2.1
The author has been trained in computing. He was an active member of the Chadian
Human Rights League (LTDH), vice-president of one of the components of the Alliance
Nationale de Résistance (ANR) and acting vice-president of the Union des Jeunes
Révolutionnaires (UJR) for an 18-month period during the president’s absence. After this
period he was denounced to the security forces by agents who had infiltrated these bodies.
2.2
On 16 September 1998, soldiers came to the author’s home during his absence. A police
officer friend advised him to leave his house. After he had gone into hiding at his mother’s
home, the soldiers returned to his house at night. This convinced him he should leave the
country.
2.3
The author requested asylum in Switzerland, but his request was turned down.
Thereupon he was allegedly forced by the Swiss authorities to contact the Chadian Embassy in
France in order to organize his return home. The embassy officials reportedly refused to assist
him as they claimed they could not ensure his safety unless he expressly renounced the
opposition movement and supported the existing regime.
Merits of the case
3.
The author states that, as he is known to the security services in Chad, if he returned
there he would run a real risk of ill-treatment. He considers that today it has been sufficiently
established, in particular by the International Federation of Human Rights (IFHR), that human
rights are violated on a massive scale in Chad. Moreover, the Swiss Asylum Appeal
Commission has itself recognized that members of the LTDH, such as the author, are liable to
have serious difficulties with the Chadian security services. Three LTDH activists have
disappeared since being arrested by Sudanese security forces in April 1998 and handed over to
the Chadian authorities.