Decision adopted by the Committee under the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, concerning communication No. 91/20191*, 2**
- *Adopted by the Committee at its seventy-fourth session (25 September–13 October 2023). ↩
- **The following members of the Committee participated in the examination of the communication: Aslan Abashidze, Mohamed Ezzeldin Abdel-Moneim, Nadir Adilov, Mohammed Amarti, Asraf Ally Caunhye, Laura-Maria Crăciunean-Tatu, Peters Sunday Omologbe Emuze, Santiago Manuel Fiorio Vaesken, Ludovic Hennebel, Joo-Young Lee, Karla Vanessa Lemus de Vásquez, Seree Nonthasoot, Lydia Carmelita Ravenberg, Julieta Rossi, Preeti Saran, Shen Yongxiang and Michael Windfuhr. Pursuant to rule 23 of the rules of procedure under the Optional Protocol, Mikel Mancisidor de la Fuente did not participate in the examination of the communication. ↩
The author is C.F.J., a national of Nigeria. She submitted an individual communication on behalf of herself and her two minor children, M.O.O. and O.R.O., born in 2011 and 2014 respectively. She claims that the State party would violate her rights and those of her children under articles 10 and 11 (1) of the Covenant if it evicted them without ensuring that they have alternative housing. The author is represented by counsel.
In November 2016, the author and her children began paying €200 per month to rent a property from a private individual. The author was unaware that the individual was not the owner of the property. In June 2017, the actual owner of the property, a private legal entity in receipt of public investment, filed proceedings against the author for unlawful occupation. On 23 June 2017, the author was acquitted by Court of Investigation No. 2 of Fuenlabrada. The owner then filed eviction proceedings against the author on grounds of illegal occupancy. On 29 May 2018, Court of Investigation No. 2 of Fuenlabrada found against the author. On 19 September 2018, the Court ordered the author to vacate the property within one month. Although the author opposed the order, on 31 October 2018, the Court set an eviction date for 9 January 2019. The author had no fixed income and was financially reliant on informal work and on sporadic donations and monetary support from friends and private and public institutions. The author claims that her application for social housing was rejected. The author claims that the eviction violates her rights and those of her children under articles 10 and 11 (1) of the Covenant and asks the Committee to request the State party to take interim measures to suspend the eviction since she has no alternative housing.
On 4 January 2019, the Committee, through its Working Group on Communications, registered the communication and requested the State party to take interim measures to suspend the eviction of the author and her children pending the consideration of the communication or to provide them with adequate alternative housing, in genuine and effective consultation with them.
On 7 November 2019, the State party submitted its observations on the admissibility and merits of the communication, which were transmitted to the author for her comments. In the absence of a response from the author, the secretariat sent a reminder asking if she had lost interest in the communication. On 24 January 2023, the author’s counsel indicated that he had lost contact with her and would attempt to reach her. The secretariat received no further response.
At its meeting on 9 October 2023, the Committee, having noted that the author and her counsel had failed to respond to repeated requests for comments on the State party’s observations on the admissibility and merits of the communication and for confirmation of their continued interest therein, decided to discontinue consideration of the communication, in accordance with rule 18 of its rules of procedure under the Optional Protocol.