Last updated on June 28th, 2023 at 06:00 am

Concerning S.J.A. (represented by counsel, Tage Gøttsche) vs Denmark for violation of article 3, 5 and 16 of CEDAW.

The author originates from Ceel Garas, Galguduud region in Somalie. In December 2013,  A.H., a high-ranking member of Al-Shabaab wanted to marry her and asked her father for her hand several times. Knowing that that author did not want to marry A.H., the author’s father initially refused and then attempted to delay his final answer. In February 2014, A.H. came to the author’s house and forced her to follow him to the Al-Shabaab headquarters in the town, where she was told that, if she refused to marry him, he would kill her. Thus the author fled to Denmark and applied for asylum.

The author’s asylum application was rejected by the Danish authorities as they found that the author’s story and claims lacked credibility; her explanations and account of specific facts were evasive, unclear and sometimes inconsistent and appeared to have been fabricated. Thus a complaint was sent to CEDAW.

The Committee observes that the limited information provided by the author to the Committee corroborates the determination of the State party’s authorities that the author’s claims lacked substantiation. The Committee considers that nothing on file permits it to conclude that the State party’s authorities failed to give sufficient consideration to the author’s asylum claims, or that the national examination of her asylum case otherwise suffered from any procedural defect. Thus the Committee declares the communication to be inadmissible.