CRPD/C/20/D/23/2014 protection to the author — a 12-year-old child — despite the complaint he submitted to the police after the first attack, which he suffered in 2010, and the failure to provide him with the medical assistance and rehabilitation he needed after the second attack, which he suffered because of his disability in 2011, the State party breached its obligations under article 7 of the Convention. 8.6 Regarding the author’s claims under article 8 of the Convention, the Committee notes the author’s argument that the State party failed to take appropriate and adequate measures to raise awareness throughout society, which led to discrimination and insecurity for persons with albinism, and that the State party has taken no initiative to end this situation. The Committee observes that the State party’s inactivity and passivity amounts to an implicit acceptance of the perpetuation of the heinous crimes committed in its jurisdiction against persons with albinism and considers that it amounts to a violation of article 8 of the Convention. 8.7 As regards the author’s allegations under article 15 of the Convention, the Committee notes his argument that the acts that he was a victim of amount to torture, violence and abuse which the State party has failed to effectively investigate and punish. The Committee recalls that under article 15 of the Convention, no one is to be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and that States parties must take all effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent persons with disabilities, on an equal basis with others, from being subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The Committee also recalls that “the term ‘torture’ means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity.” 43 The Committee further recalls that the violent acts suffered by the author were perpetrated by private individuals, and that, as such, they do not constitute acts of torture. Nonetheless, the Committee also recalls that the obligation of States parties to prevent and punish torture and inhuman and degrading treatment violations applies to acts committed by both State and non-State actors. 44 Expedition and effectiveness are particularly important in the adjudication of such cases. The Committee also considers that the suffering experienced by the author, owing to the lack of action by the State party to allow effective prosecution of the suspected perpetrators of the crime, becomes a cause of revictimization, and amounts to psychological torture and/or ill-treatment. For these reasons, the Committee finds that, in the circumstances of the present case, the State party has violated article 15 of the Convention. 45 8.8 The Committee recalls that, under article 16 (4) of the Convention, States parties must “take all appropriate measures to promote the physical, cognitive and psychological recovery, rehabilitation and social reintegration of persons with disabilities who become victims of any form of exploitation, violence or abuse, including through the provision of protection services”, and that such recovery and reintegration must “take place in an environment that fosters the health, welfare, self-respect, dignity and autonomy of the person and takes into account gender- and age-specific needs”. In the absence of any submission from the State party on the author’s allegations of violation of article 16, the Committee observes that even though, at the time of the attack, the author was a 12-yearold child who had been abandoned by his family, the State party failed to provide him with any kind of medical care and assistance for his rehabilitation. For these reasons, the Committee finds that, in the circumstances of the present case, the State party has violated the author’s rights under article 16 of the Convention. 43 44 45 See art. 1 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. See Human Rights Committee, general comment No. 20 (1992) on the prohibition of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, para. 13. See, for example, Durić v. Bosnia and Herzegovina (CCPR/C/111/D/1956/2010), paras. 9.6–9.7; Yrusta and del Valle Yrusta v. Argentina, para. 10.8; and X v. United Republic of Tanzania, para. 8.6. 11