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On 24 June 2026, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) communicated the application of G.B. v. the Netherlands (Application no. 7740/26). The case concerns the alleged risk of ill-treatment of the applicant if returned to her country of origin, and the Dutch authorities’ alleged failure to properly assess her asylum application.

The applicant, a national of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), applied for international protection in the Netherlands, alleging that she had been subjected to repeated sexual violence in the DRC and during her journey to the Netherlands. Her asylum application was rejected after the domestic authorities considered her account to be inconsistent, incoherent and vague. The applicant argued that these inconsistencies resulted from trauma caused by rape and abuse and submitted medical records documenting psychological and physical symptoms consistent with her allegations. Although she requested a forensic medical examination in accordance with the Istanbul Protocol, the domestic authorities considered such an examination unnecessary.

The Court asked the parties, inter alia, whether the Dutch authorities complied with their procedural obligations under Article 3 European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) when assessing the applicant’s asylum claim, and whether they adequately took into account the possible impact of trauma on her ability to provide credible, consistent and detailed statements.