Concerning M.E vs Denmark for violation of articles 23 and 24 of CCPR.

The author is a Moroccan national born in 1990. The parents of the author divorced before he was born. After the divorce, the author’s father moved to Denmark. The author’s mother obtained custody over him and he lived with his mother’s parents in Morocco. After the death of his maternal grandparents, the author’s mother could not support him. The author applied to be reunited with his father in Denmark but the application was rejected because the father had no custody over him. In 2003, when the mother remarried, she transferred the custody over the author to his father. The author requested Danish authorities to reopen his application for residence. The request was rejected as the authorities found that the applicant’s father had not proved the ability to maintain him.

In these very specific circumstances, the Committee considers that the decisions not to allow the reunification of the author and his father in the State party’s territory, would constitute interference with the family and is a violation of CCPR, due to a failure to provide the author with the necessary measures of protection as a minor.