CRPD/C/23/D/60/2019
the Migration Agency on 16 October 2018. The Agency noted that the author had not
previously, before the expulsion order became final, cited mental ill health. It was further
noted that the author herself connected her cited health status to her fear of returning to Iraq.
The Agency found that it had not been substantiated that the author’s cited ill health was
caused by a severe mental illness that was not of a temporary nature. Upon appeal to the
Migration Court the complainant submitted three new medical certificates in support of her
cited impaired state of health, and she claimed that the medical treatment she was receiving
in the State party was vital for her and that she would not receive adequate care in Iraq.
According to the medical certificates, her mental health condition was stated to have been
exacerbated by psychotic symptoms and increased suicidal thoughts and plans. Without
adequate care, she was deemed to be at risk of serious deterioration in her health status that
could be life-threatening. Her condition was also considered to be life-threatening owing to
the high risk of suicide. The Migration Court rejected the author’s appeal on 21 December
2018 and found that the submitted medical evidence did not provide sufficient support for
the assumption that the author’s mental health condition was of a permanent nature and
therefore found no reason to further assess her possibilities of receiving psychiatric care in
Iraq. Regarding the author’s cited state of physical health, the court concluded that no such
circumstances had been put forward that led to the assumption that she would not be able to
receive care in Iraq. The decision was upheld by the Migration Court of Appeal on 21
January 2019.
4.4
The author subsequently submitted a third application for a residence permit
claiming that there were impediments to the enforcement of the expulsion order owing to
her ill health. The Migration Agency rejected the application on 7 August 2019 and stated
that the submitted medical certificates showed that the author was mentally unwell and that
she needed medical treatment and professional psychiatric contact. It concluded, however,
that it did not follow from the medical certificates that it would be practically impossible
for the author to travel and thus to return to her country of origin. It further noted that
according to the medical certificates, the author’s state of health had improved as a result of
the medication and the continued psychiatric care she had received, and that she had
therefore not plausibly demonstrated that her state of health was caused by severe mental
illness that could be deemed to be of a lasting nature. It considered her ill health and
suicidal ideation to be primarily linked to her disappointment at her asylum process, her
unclear situation and her fear of being expelled, and that it did not follow from the
submitted material that she would be in need of such care that would not be available to her
in Iraq.
4.5
The State party also provides information on the pertinent domestic legislation and
notes that a residence permit may be issued under chapter 5, section 6, of the Aliens Act in
cases where an overall assessment of the person’s situation reveals such exceptionally
distressing circumstances that he or she should be allowed to stay in the State party. In
making this assessment, particular attention is to be paid to the person’s state of health,
their adaptation to the State party and the situation in their country of origin. One ground
for a residence permit in these circumstances is that the person in question has a lifethreatening somatic or mental illness or suffers from a particularly serious disability. The
State party notes that in order to grant a residence permit on grounds of mental ill health, a
medical examination must support the view that the mental health condition is sufficiently
severe that it could be regarded as life-threatening. Regarding a claim of suicide risk, the
starting point is that each individual is primarily responsible for their own life and actions.
In some cases, however, serious self-destructive acts or statements of intent to carry out
such acts by a seriously and non-temporarily mentally disturbed person have led to
residence permits being granted. In such cases, the Migration Agency have assessed the
extent to which these self-destructive acts or statements of intent to carry out such acts have
been made because of severe mental ill health that has been demonstrated in a psychiatric
examination.
4.6
The State party notes the author’s claims that her removal to Iraq would amount to a
violation of her rights under articles 10 and 15 of the Convention, since expulsion would
lead to a grave risk of her committing suicide, as well as other risks to her life and health. It
also notes her claim that her vulnerability, as a woman with disabilities with no male
network in Iraq, is to be recognized under article 6 of the Convention. The State party
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