Last updated on July 22nd, 2021 at 08:23 am

Concerning A.A.A and M.A.M (represented by the Danish Refugee Council) vs Denmark for violation of article 7 of CCPR.

A.A.A.’s brother was a soldier in the Somali army and was killed by Al-Shabaab. A.A.A was threatened by Al-Shabaab because he was suspected of being a spy for the Government.

M.A.M fled to Libya because Al-Shabaab killed her brother and husband as they worked for the government. Al-Shabaab members repeatedly threatened her and looked for her at her home.

The authors fled from Somalia to Libya where they first met. The authors then travelled to Italy and were granted resident permits. They were asked to leave the asylum center and had to live on the streets. This is when M.A.M gave birth to their son A. The baby was not well and they were not offered any medical assistance. Thus they fled to Denmark and applied for asylum. The Danish authorities decided that even though the authors were in need of subsidiary protection, they should be transferred to Italy, as it was their first country of asylum. Thus a complaint was sent to CCPR.

The Committee considers that the State party failed to take into due consideration the special vulnerability of the authors who, notwithstanding their entitlement to subsidiary protection, face homelessness and are not able to provide for themselves in the absence of any assistance from the Italian authorities, including the medical assistance needed for their newborn son. Consequently, the Committee considers that the removal of the authors and their two minor children to Italy would be in violation of CCPR.