CAT/C/59/D/697/2015
United Nations
Convention against Torture
and Other Cruel, Inhuman
or Degrading Treatment
or Punishment
Distr.: General
27 January 2017
English
Original: French
Committee against Torture
Decision adopted by the Committee under article 22 of the
Convention, concerning communication No. 697/2015*, **
Communication submitted by:
X (not represented by counsel) et al.
Alleged victims:
The complainant and Y (his wife) and their
daughter, Z
State party:
Switzerland
Date of complaint:
14 August 2015 (initial submission)
Date of present decision:
25 November 2016
Subject matter:
Deportation to Belgium
Procedural issue:
None
Substantive issues:
Deportation of a person to another State where
there are substantial grounds for believing that he
would be in danger of being subjected to torture
Article of the Covenant:
3
1.1
The complainant is X, a Rwandan national. He also submits the complaint on behalf
of his wife, Y, and their daughter, Z, both also Rwandan nationals. The family is currently
being held at a centre for asylum seekers in Oberbuchsiten (canton of Solothurn,
Switzerland), pending their deportation to Belgium. The complainant is subject to an
international arrest warrant issued by INTERPOL at the request of Rwanda. He claims that
his deportation and that of his wife and daughter to Belgium by Switzerland would
constitute a violation of the State party’s obligations under article 3 of the Convention. The
complainant is not represented.
1.2
In accordance with article 22 (3) of the Convention, the Committee brought the
complaint to the State party’s attention on 14 August 2015. At the same time, in application
of rule 114 (1) of its rules of procedure, the Committee asked the State party not to expel
* Adopted by the Committee at its fifty-ninth session (7 November-7 December 2016).
** The following members of the Committee participated in the examination of the communication:
Essadia Belmir, Alessio Bruni, Felice Gaer, Claude Heller Rouassant, Jens Modvig and Kening
Zhang.
GE.17-01261 (E)
060217 060217