CAT/C/60/D/708/2015
United Nations
Convention against Torture
and Other Cruel, Inhuman
or Degrading Treatment
or Punishment
Distr.: General
29 June 2017
Original: English
Committee against Torture
Decision adopted by the Committee under article 22 of the
Convention, concerning communication No. 708/2015*, **
Communication submitted by:
P.V. (represented by counsel, Sally Thompson)
Alleged victim:
The complainant
State party:
Australia
Date of complaint:
20 October 2015 (initial submission)
Date of present decision:
12 May 2017
Subject matters:
Deportation to Sri Lanka
Procedural issues:
None
Substantive issues:
Risk of torture in the event of deportation to
country of origin (non-refoulement)
Articles of the Convention:
3
1.1
The complainant is P.V., a Sri Lankan national born on 14 April 1983 and subject to
removal from Australia to Sri Lanka. He claims that his deportation would constitute a
violation by Australia of his rights under article 3 of the Convention. The complainant is
represented by counsel.
1.2
On 27 October 2015, the Committee, acting through its Rapporteur on new
complaints and interim measures, decided to issue a request for interim measures under rule
114 (1) of the Committee’s rules of procedure and requested the State party not to deport
the complainant to Sri Lanka while the complaint was being considered by the Committee.
On 31 May 2016, following a request by the State party dated 10 May 2016, the Committee,
acting through the Rapporteur, denied the request of the State party to lift interim measures.
The facts as presented by the complainant
2.1
The complainant is a Sri Lankan of Tamil ethnicity born at Palampasy, Mullaitivu,
Northern Province, in 1983, the year when the Sri Lankan civil war broke out. He lived in
Mullaitivu District, a stronghold of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) where the
genocide of Tamil people at the end of the war took place in 2009.
* Adopted by the Committee at its sixtieth session (18 April-12 May 2017).
** The following members of the Committee participated in the examination of the present
communication: Essadia Belmir, Alessio Bruni, Felice Gaer, Jens Modvig, Claude Heller Rouassant,
Ana Racu, Sébastien Touzé and Kening Zhang.
GE.17-10817(E)