CAT/C/71/D/884/2018
United Nations
Convention against Torture
and Other Cruel, Inhuman
or Degrading Treatment
or Punishment
Distr.: General
23 September 2021
Original: English
Committee against Torture
Decision adopted by the Committee under article 22 of the
Convention, concerning communication No. 884/2018*, **
Communication submitted by:
N.S. (represented by counsel, Daniel Taylor)
Alleged victim:
The complainant
State party:
Australia
Date of complaint:
10 September 2018 (initial submission)
Document references:
Decision taken pursuant to rules 114 and 115 of
the Committee’s rules of procedure, transmitted
to the State party on 10 September 2018 (not
issued in document form)
Date of adoption of decision:
21 July 2021
Subject matter:
Risk of torture or other cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment, if deported
to country of origin (non-refoulement);
prevention of torture
Procedural issue:
Admissibility – manifestly ill-founded
Substantive issue:
Deportation to Sri Lanka
Article of the Convention:
3
1.1
The complainant is N.S., a national of Sri Lanka born in 1989. His application for
asylum in the State party has been rejected and he risks deportation. He claims that if the
State party were to proceed with his deportation, it would violate his rights under article 3
the Convention. The State party has made the declaration pursuant to article 22 (1) of the
Convention, effective from 28 January 1993. The complainant is represented by counsel.
1.2
On 10 September 2018, pursuant to rule 114 of its rules of procedure, the Committee,
acting through its Rapporteur on new complaints and interim measures, requested the State
party to refrain from expelling the complainant while the complaint was being considered.
Facts as submitted by the complainant
2.1
The complainant is of Tamil ethnicity. He grew up in an area that was closely
contested by the Sri Lanka Army and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (Tamil Tigers).
His brother was shot and his brother-in-law arrested by the Sri Lanka Army. After finishing
school, the complainant joined the Tamil Tigers and underwent a three-month self-defence
* Adopted by the Committee at its seventy-first session (12–30 July 2021).
** The following members of the Committee participated in the examination of the communication:
Essadia Belmir, Claude Heller, Erdoğan İşcan, Liu Huawen, Ilvija Pūce, Diego Rodríguez-Pinzón,
Sébastien Touzé, Bakhtiyar Tuzmukhamedov and Peter Vedel Kessing.
GE.21-13472(E)