The United Nations rules that the expulsion of a torture victim to Italy under the Dublin Regulation violates Convention against Torture, 3 August 2018

CSDM obtains a landmark victory for torture victims worldwide: the right to rehabilitation under Article 14 of the United Nations Convention against Torture imposes limitations on a state’s power to expel torture survivors who would face interruption of medical treatment in the country of destination. The Convention against Torture is one of the most widely ratified human rights treaties and has 164 State parties (as of June 2018). 

In a landmark decision of 3 August 2018, A.N. v. Switzerland, Communication 742/2016, the United Nations Committee against Torture ruled that the expulsion of an Eritrean torture victim to Italy under the Dublin Regulation would violate his rights under the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment by depriving him of the medical treatment necessary for his rehabilitation. A torture victim’s right to rehabilitation is guaranteed under Article 14 of the UN Convention against Torture. The Committee found that the deprivation of medical care which is necessary to treat the physical and psychological after-effects of torture amounts to ill-treatment under Article 16 of the Convention, and therefore engages the State Party’s non-refoulement obligations. Continuer la lecture de « The United Nations rules that the expulsion of a torture victim to Italy under the Dublin Regulation violates Convention against Torture, 3 August 2018 »

A.N. v. Switzerland, Communication 742/2016

CSDM obtains a landmark victory for torture victims worldwide: the right to rehabilitation under Article 14 of the United Nations Convention against Torture imposes limitations on a state’s power to expel torture survivors who would face interruption of medical treatment in the country of destination. The Convention against Torture is one of the most widely ratified human rights treaties and has 164 State parties (as of June 2018). 

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A.N. v. Switzerland, CAT Communication no. 742/2016, 3 August 2018

The Committee against Torture held that the expulsion of an Eritrean torture survivor to Italy, where he risked being deprived of the medical care necessary to treat his physical and psychological trauma, and where he would face street destitution, amounted to breaches of Articles 3, 14 and 16 of the United Nations Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. The Committee noted that the Swiss authorities had failed to properly assess the risks to the complainant, and that the precarious circumstances he would face in Italy would endanger his life and “leave him no reasonable choice but to seek protection elsewhere, exposing him to a risk of chain refoulement to his home country.” For further information, click here.

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The story of Mr. J.D. throws a dark shadow over Switzerland’s humanitarian tradition.

J.D. v. Switzerland, Communication no. 700/2015   

Our client, a Syrian national and torture survivor, is stuck in legal limbo. He is waiting for the outcome of the Dublin Regulation procedure that Switzerland launched almost 4 years ago to have him deported to Italy. And while Switzerland fights tooth-and-nail to keep him out, no one has yet heard his story, or even asked him why he left his country.

Mr. J.D. was imprisoned in Syria for 5 years. During his detention, he was regularly tortured and forced to witness the ill-treatment and summary execution of fellow prisoners. In 2012 the prison was bombed by an armed opposition group and he escaped with hundreds of other detainees.

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A.S. v. Switzerland, requite n° 39350/13

L’arrêt concerne un requérant d’asile syrien, victime de tortures dans son pays d’origine et souffrant d’un syndrome de stress post-traumatique sévère. La Cour européenne des droits de l’homme a jugé que son renvoi vers l’Italie ne violait pas les articles 3 et 8 CEDH, malgré ses besoins impérieux de soins médicaux spécialisés, en particulier psychiatriques, et sa dépendance aux membres de sa famille résidant en Suisse. Le requérant soutenait qu’il n’aurait pas accès aux soins requis en Italie en raison des défaillances majeures constatées dans le système d’accueil italien et qu’il serait séparé de son frère avec lequel il jouissait d’un lien de dépendance particulier.

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