The United Nations Human Rights Committee has found that Sweden breached the right to life of a severely disabled Albanian child by deporting him twice without verifying whether he could access life-sustaining medical care in Albania.
The committee published its decision after reviewing the complaint of E.B., an Albanian now aged 21, who was diagnosed with complex health conditions including autism, grave mental developmental disorder, spastic diplegic cerebral palsy, hydrocephalus and epilepsy. He and his family arrived in Sweden in 2012 seeking protection and medical care, but after years of unsuccessful asylum applications and appeals, they were deported to Albania in 2016 when he was 10, and again in 2019 when he was 14.
The committee noted that Swedish migration authorities failed to adequately verify medical certificates submitted during domestic proceedings. Those certificates showed that E.B. depended on a vital shunt and regular specialist follow-up care, without which his life would be at risk, and that essential medical care was not available in Albania.
In its decision dated March 30, the committee said countries must not remove a person from their territory when there are substantial grounds for believing there is a real risk of irreparable harm in the destination country.
The committee concluded that Swedish authorities had violated E.B.’s right to life and his right to be free from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). It called on Stockholm to review his applications for asylum or residency and to provide adequate compensation.
E.B. has since returned to Sweden again and is currently facing a new removal order, making the committee’s ruling of immediate practical significance beyond its legal and symbolic weight.
The committee is a body of 18 independent experts that monitors implementation of the ICCPR by its state parties. While it does not have enforcement powers, its decisions carry significant international weight in assessing countries’ compliance with human rights obligations.
