The communication was submitted by an Ethiopian national on behalf of herself and her son, claiming that they are victims of a violation by Denmark of their rights under articles 6, 7 and 24(1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The author is an ethnic Oromo from Ethiopia, and her father was a leader of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), who died in prison after torture. After his death, she fled to Sudan with her mother and siblings, where they were recognised as refugees. She was involved in activities of the OLF fraction in Sudan, which were often interrupted by Sudanese police. She fled to Italy in 2006 and was granted refugee status, but she lived in the streets where she contracted tuberculosis and was sexually abused, which led to her conceiving her son. She travelled to Denmark in 2013, where in 2015 she was refused asylum as she was not persecuted in Ethiopia and, if she was, Italy would be her country of asylum. The decision was confirmed on appeal and a removal order to Ethiopia was issued to the author and her child.

In the complaint, the applicant claims that there was a violation of article 6 of the Covenant as upon return she risks losing her life at the hands of the authorities, and this risk was acknowledged in Italy. Additionally, return to Italy would result in a breach of article 7 because of the conditions in which she lived and that her son would be exposed to. The author and the State party agreed that article 24 was irrelevant as the claim contains no allegations of violations arising out of treatment experienced in Denmark, or where the Danish authorities are in effective control, and the article has not previously been proven to have extraterritorial effect.

The Human Rights Committee found that the author provided sufficient explanations and substantiation to demonstrate that she and her son would face risks of death and torture upon return to Ethiopia, and that these factors required an in-depth examination in order to determine whether the author faced a real and personal risk of treatment contrary to the Covenant. It considered that the State Party had failed to demonstrate that a sufficient individualised assessment of the case had taken place. Therefore, the Committee is of the opinion that a removal to Ethiopia implemented without such an assessment would violate the rights of the author and her son under articles 6 and 7 of the Covenant. The CCPR asked to receive from Denmark information about the measures taken to give effect to the Committee’s Views within 180 days and to refrain from deportation until the application for asylum has been reviewed.