CAT/C/68/D/882/2018 Consideration of the merits 8.1 The Committee has considered the communication in the light of all the information made available to it by the parties, in accordance with article 22 (4) of the Convention. 8.2 The issue before the Committee is whether, by deporting the complainant to Chile, the State party would be in breach of its obligation under article 3 (1) of the Convention not to expel or return a person to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that he or she would be in danger of being subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The Committee notes first that the prohibition against torture is absolute and non-derogable and that no exceptional circumstances whatsoever may be invoked by a State party to justify acts of torture. 30 8.3 In assessing whether there are substantial grounds for believing that the alleged victim would be in danger of being subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, the Committee recalls that, under article 3 (2) of the Convention, States parties must take into account all relevant considerations, including the existence of a consistent pattern of gross, flagrant or mass violations of human rights in the country to which he or she would be returned. While the Committee is not of the view that there is currently in Chile a consistent pattern of gross, flagrant or mass violations of human rights, it nevertheless notes the specific nature of the present case and the complainant’s allegations that, for asserting their fundamental rights, the Mapuche people face widespread and systematic violations of their fundamental rights, ill-treatment and political persecution. The Committee also notes the State party’s arguments that not every Chilean Mapuche runs the risk of persecution and that the Chilean State denies the discriminatory use of the Counter-Terrorism Act against Mapuche activists. The Committee nevertheless observes that the State party has also acknowledged that Mapuche people who are trying to maintain their traditional way of life are involved in violent clashes with the Chilean security apparatus, that there have been miscarriages of military justice in trials of Mapuche activists, as well as police violence in Araucanía with disproportionately severe acts of repression by the State, and that, in general, the situation of some Mapuche leaders in Araucanía is troubling in many respects. 8.4 In addition, the Committee also notes that, according to the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, the present situation of indigenous people in Chile is the outcome of a long history of marginalization, discrimination and exclusion, mostly linked to various oppressive forms of exploitation and plundering of their land and resources.31 More specifically, the broadcast “Chili, la révolte mapuche”, to which the State party refers in its observations, mentions “constant monitoring” and “systematic repression” in the rural areas inhabited by the Mapuche, who know that the “slightest misplaced comment could send them directly to prison”. The Committee notes that this is the current situation, since the President of Chile, according to that broadcast mentioned by the State party, has made it a priority to respond with force and to clamp down on any Mapuche protest. In addition, the Committee on the Rights of the Child has urged Chile to “take immediate steps to stop all violence by the police against indigenous children and their families”.32 In the same vein, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women mentions reports of excessive use of force by Chilean State agents against Mapuche women in Araucanía and calls on Chile to ensure that all forms of gender-based violence against Mapuche women committed by State agents at all levels, including the police, are duly and systematically investigated.33 In the past, the Committee against Torture has itself noted the extraction of confessions from Mapuche activists under duress; police brutality and excessive use of force; impunity for human rights violations; and the use of the Counter-Terrorism Act to suppress demonstrations by Mapuche leaders demanding the return of their ancestral lands and collective recognition as an indigenous people. 34 The Committee notes that similar observations have been made by the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, for its part, has expressed reiterated concern about 30 31 32 33 34 GE.20-00012 General comment No. 2 (2007) on the implementation of article 2, para. 5. E/CN.4/2004/80/Add.3, para. 8. CRC/C/CHL/CO/4-5, para. 80 (d). CEDAW/C/CHL/CO/7, paras. 24 (f) and 25 (f). CAT/C/CHL/CO/6, paras. 18–22. 11