On 25 April 2025, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), together with the Advice on Individual Rights in Europe Centre (AIRE Centre) and the European Council for Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) submitted a joint third-party intervention before the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in the case of H.A.M. v. Denmark. The case concerns the expulsion on criminal grounds of a Somali individual with disabilities from Denmark, after over 30 years of asylum.
The intervening organizations underscore the general obligation to ensure equality in administrative and judicial procedures for persons with disabilities under Article 5 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), the Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), and the Article 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (CFREU).
The intervention focuses on intersectional discrimination, stressing that individuals that experience both displacement and disability simultaneously face increased difficulties in accessing procedures. The interveners submit that State parties must first identify any particular circumstances of vulnerability, to be able to provide necessary procedural adjustments on a thorough understanding of that person’s needs and rights, paying particular attention to ensuring appropriate case management and effective communication. Specifically, the interveners invite the Committee to employ a holistic interpretation of Article 5 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which guards against non-discrimination, interpreted in the light of the principle of accessibility of Article 3 and the right of access to justice of Article 13.
“The above considerations call for a nuanced approach to credibility and evidence assessment in the context of asylum and international protection proceedings, especially for persons with disabilities.” – Third party intervention in H.A.M. v. Denmark, 105/2023.
The intervention presents an analysis of international and EU standards on the right to individualised procedures in cases involving a risk of refoulement. Under international human rights law, States must observe the principle of non-refoulement with no exception to every asylum/international protection claim.
“Where the applicant is not in a position to explain their situation with clarity and accuracy, either due to psychological factors relating to flight trauma or a specific disability in the absence of specialised support, the authorities must adapt the application of procedural rules to ensure access to asylum in a fair and equal manner.” – Third party intervention in H.A.M. v. Denmark, 105/2023
According to robust case law, the risk of ill-treatment assessment must be individualised during expulsion proceedings involving persons with disabilities. The ICJ, the AIRE Centre, and the ECRE, implore the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to take account of these relevant international substantive and procedural guarantees, in order to protect the freedom from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of the applicant under Article 15 of the CRPD.
Read the full submission to the CRPD here
For more information please contact: Karolína Babická, Senior Legal Adviser at karolina.babicka@icj.org
