The case of K.J. v. Switzerland. Opinions of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women dated July 4, 2025. Message No. 169/2021. The author claimed that the State party had failed to conduct an individual and gender-sensitive assessment of her asylum applications, in violation of her rights under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. The Committee concluded that the author's expulsion would amount to a violation of the Convention.
Legal positions of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women: In accordance with the Committee's practice, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women has extraterritorial effect only in cases where there is a real, personal and foreseeable risk of serious forms of gender-based violence for a woman being expelled from the country (paragraph 7.3 of the Opinion).
The Committee recalls that, in accordance with article 2, paragraph (d), of the Convention, States parties refrain from committing any discriminatory acts or actions against women and ensure that public authorities and institutions act in accordance with this obligation. The Committee also recalls that, under international human rights law, the principle of non-refoulement imposes on the State the obligation to refrain from returning any person to a legal system in which he or she may become victims of serious human rights violations, especially arbitrary deprivation of life or torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. In addition, the Committee considers that gender-based violence that impedes or nullifies women's enjoyment of their human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with general international law or the provisions of human rights conventions constitutes discrimination within the meaning of article 1 of the Convention and that these rights include the right to life and the right not to be subjected to torture. The Committee further elaborated on its interpretation of violence against women as a form of gender discrimination in its General Recommendation No. 35 (2017) on gender-based violence against women, intended to update General Recommendation No. 19, reaffirming the obligation of States parties to eliminate discrimination against women, including gender-based violence against women, stating that this obligation It includes two aspects of State responsibility for such violence: responsibility, arising as a result of the actions or omissions of the participating State itself and its subjects on the one hand and non-State actors on the other. Therefore, the return of a person to another State where there is a foreseeable risk of serious gender-based violence against that person would constitute a violation of the Convention by the State party. Such a violation will also occur when the authorities of the State to which the person will be returned cannot be expected to provide protection from such possible gender-based violence. The question of what constitutes serious forms of gender-based violence is determined by the circumstances of the case (paragraph 7.4 of the Opinions).
In carrying out their assessment, participating States should pay sufficient attention to the fact that, in the event of deportation, a person may be exposed to a real and personal risk (paragraph 7.6 of the Opinions).
Assessment of the factual circumstances of the case by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women: the author's statement that she had experienced severe gender-based violence from an early age in the Islamic Republic of Iran and while fleeing near the Iraqi-Turkish border, for which she was recognized as a refugee in Greece, was noted. The Committee also took note of the author's allegation that she had been subjected to gender-based violence in Greece. The Committee drew attention to the fact that her mental health had deteriorated due to the ongoing violence, that she was suffering from depression, and that she had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and episodic panic disorder. The Committee took into account that the author's vulnerability in terms of her mental health was confirmed in several psychiatric medical reports issued in the State party (paragraph 7.2 of the Opinions).
The Committee noted that the author's allegations that she had been raped in Greece were dismissed because the authorities considered that she had made these allegations at a late stage of the proceedings, which cast doubt on the credibility of her words (paragraph 7.5 of the Opinions).
The Committee considered that it was the responsibility of the State party to individually assess the real, personal and foreseeable risk to which the author would be exposed as an unaccompanied woman, a victim of severe gender-based violence suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and depression (paragraph 7.7 of the Opinion).
The Committee drew attention to the fact that the State party had not paid due attention to the author's vulnerable situation as a refugee and victim of severe gender-based violence suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and depression... The Committee concluded that, given the author's status as a recognized refugee and survivor of gender-based violence, and the time it often takes victims to report such violence, it was not enough for the State party to reject her claim that she had been subjected to gender-based violence in Greece, simply because that she stated this at a later stage of the proceedings. The Committee considered that the State party had not examined on a case-by-case basis and in a thorough manner the predicted consequences for the author's mental health in the event of her forced expulsion from the country where she is currently undergoing therapy in stable conditions. The Committee concluded that, given the circumstances of the case, the State party needed to conduct a more thorough risk assessment (paragraph 7.8 of the Opinion).
Conclusions of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women: the author's expulsion would amount to a violation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.