CCPR/C/117/D/2379/2014
2.5
The author’s daughter Ikraan had been forced to enter a marriage, arranged by the
author’s brother-in-law, who was associated with Al-Shabaab. On 12 August 2013, Ikraan
and her three other sisters Ayaan, Maida and Anisa, arrived in Italy having fled Somalia
because of the risk of forced marriage. The author fears that her daughters would be
forcibly married and states that her brother-in-law is still making threatening demands to
the author’s mother in Somalia that Ikraan and her sisters be brought back. The author did
not arrange their travel. The daughters were not registered by the Italian authorities and do
not hold any residence permit in Italy. The author and her daughters stayed in Italy for five
days, “living on food from churches”.
2.6
Facing destitution and homelessness, the author decided to travel with her daughters
to Denmark, where she arrived on 18 August 2013 and applied for asylum. On 16
December 2013, the Danish Immigration Service considered that, because of her situation
in Somalia, the author was in need of subsidiary protection, but noted that she should be
transferred to Italy, as it was her first country of asylum. On an unspecified date, an appeal
was made against that decision to the Refugee Appeals Board, which upheld the decision of
the Danish Immigration Service on 11 March 2014. The Board stated that the author was in
need of subsidiary protection but that the family should be returned to Italy in accordance
with the principle of the first country of asylum. The Board noted that the author could
enter and stay in Italy legally as she had been granted asylum there. As to the humanitarian
conditions, the Board noted that “the background information regarding the conditions for
asylum seekers that have obtained temporary residence permits in Italy, to some extent
supports that the humanitarian conditions for this group are coming close to a level where it
no longer will be secure to refer to Italy as first country of asylum”. The Board further
considered that, according to a decision of the European Court of Human Rights,3 there was
no fully sufficient basis for not referring to Italy as the first country of asylum for the author
and her minor children. The Board highlighted in particular the fact that the author held an
Italian identification card, an Italian alien passport and an Italian health insurance card.
2.7
The author claims that she has exhausted all available domestic remedies in the State
party. The decision of 11 March 2014 of the Danish Refugee Appeals Board is final and
cannot be appealed.
The complaint
3.
The author submits that Denmark, by forcibly returning her and her four children to
Italy, would violate their rights under articles 7 of the Covenant.4 She is a single mother
with four minor daughters. From the time the author was told to leave the Italian reception
facilities when she was granted subsidiary protection in 2009, she was not able to find
housing, work or any other durable humanitarian solution. Therefore, taking into account
the reported shortcomings concerning the Italian reception conditions for asylum seekers
and refugees with temporary residence permit,5 the author maintains that there is a real risk
3
4
5
Samsam Hussein and Others v. the Netherlands, European Court of Human Rights decision of 2 April
2013, Application No. 27725/10, available from www.refworld.org/docid/517ebc974.html.
The author cites European Court of Human Rights, M.S.S. v. Belgium and Greece, application
No. 30696/09, judgement adopted on 15 December 2010; and Mohammad Hussein and Others
v. the Netherlands and Italy, application No. 27725/10, decision adopted on 2 April 2013.
The author refers to several reports on the situation of returnees in Italy, including Swiss Refugee
Council (OSAR), “Reception conditions in Italy: Report on the current situation of asylum seekers
and beneficiaries of protection, in particular Dublin returnees” (Bern, October 2013); European
Council on Refugees and Exiles, “Dublin II Regulation National Report: Italy” (December 2012);
Asylum Information Database, “Country report: Italy” (May 2013); United States of America
Department of State, “Country Reports on Human Rights Practices” (April 2013); Jesuit Refugee
3