Concerning Ms. Aden and Mr. Hassan vs. Denmark for violation of article 17, 23 and 26 of CCPR.

In early 2012, the authors were introduced to each other by Mr. Hassan’s brother and initiated a relationship by telephone. Ms. Aden is residing in Kenya and Mr. Hassan is residing in Denmark. They met in person for the first time in Nairobi 6 June 2012 and were married three days later. They applied for family reunification in Denmark a couple of months later. The Danish authorities refused to grant a residence permit to Ms. Aden, as they found it unlikely that the authors, as cousins, married of desire, even though the couple stated several times that the marriage was based on their will and love, and that it wasn’t a forced marriage. The fact that Ms. Aden was pregnant could not lead to a different result. On 25 July 2013, the authors had their first child. Shortly after, the couple tried to reapply for family reunification, but the Immigration Service rejected again, on the same grounds. The Committee is of the view that there is a violation of article 17 and 23 and that the State party failed to respect the family unit and adequately take into consideration the authors’ marital relationship in the context of their personal situation and the cultural context in their country of origin.