Submit a complaint about human rights violations
The ability of individuals to make complaints in the international arena about the violation of their rights gives real meaning to the rights enshrined in human rights treaties.
There are three basic procedures for submitting complaints of violations of the provisions of human rights treaties before the human rights treaty bodies:
individual complaints
Communications between countries
investigations
There are also other complaints procedures outside the Special Procedures system, more details of which can be found on the page dedicated to reporting violations.
individual complaints
There are nine core international human rights treaties. Each treaty has established a “treaty body” (committee) of experts who monitor implementation of the treaty’s provisions by its state parties.
Treaty bodies (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Committee against Torture, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Committee on Enforced Disappearances, Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and their families) to consider, under specific circumstances, individual complaints or communications. As for the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, it has not yet started implementing its individual complaints procedure.
Who can file a complaint?
Anyone may file a complaint with the Committee against a country:
a party to the relevant treaty (by ratifying or acceding to it), which guarantees the rights allegedly violated;
I have accepted the competence of the Committee to consider individual complaints, whether by ratifying or acceding to the Optional Protocol to the relevant convention (in the case of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and the International Covenant on Economic and Social Rights cultural, cultural, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child) or by making a declaration to that effect under a specific article of the Convention (in the case of the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the Convention against Torture, the International Convention on Enforced Disappearance, and the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families).
Third parties may also file complaints on behalf of individuals, provided they have given their written consent (no specific form is required). In certain cases, a third party may file a complaint without this consent, for example when a person is in prison and has no access to the outside world or is a victim of enforced disappearance.
Communications between countries
Several human rights treaties contain provisions that allow states parties to submit complaints to the relevant treaty body (the Committee) about violations of the treaty allegedly committed by another state party.
Note: In 2018, three inter-state communications were submitted under Article 11 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination, for the first time since the adoption of the Convention. more information.
Convention Against Torture
The International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, the Committee on Enforced Disappearances, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child: Article 21 of the Convention against Torture, Article 74 of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, and Article 32 of the International Convention on Enforced Disappearance, Article 10 of the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and Article 12 of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications procedure allow the relevant committee itself to consider complaints submitted by a State party that it considers to be a State third party that does not enforce the provisions of the Agreement. This procedure applies only to States parties that have made a declaration accepting the competence of the Committee in this regard.
The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child: Articles 11 to 13 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and Articles 41 to 43 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights provide for a procedure More detailed resolution of disputes between state parties regarding the state’s fulfillment of its obligations under the relevant convention/covenant through the establishment of an ad hoc conciliation committee. The procedure normally applies to all states parties to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, but only to states parties to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child that have made a declaration accepting the competence of the relevant committee in this regard.
Settlement of disputes between countries related to the interpretation or application of the agreement
Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, Committee against Torture, Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, Committee on Enforced Disappearances: Article 22 of the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and Article 29 of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against women, Article 30 of the Convention against Torture, Article 92 of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, and Article 42 of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, provided that disputes between states relating to the interpretation or application of the Convention are settled first through negotiation, and in the event that this is not possible That, by arbitration. One of the disputing states may refer the dispute to the International Court of Justice if the parties do not agree on the terms of the arbitration within six months. The States Parties may, when ratifying or acceding to the Convention, declare that they are not bound by this procedure, and in this case they may not, in accordance with the principle of reciprocity, bring claims against the other States Parties.
investigations
upon receipt of reliable information on the commission of gross, serious or systematic violations by a State party to conventions monitored by the Committee against Torture (Article 20 of the Convention against Torture) and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (Article 8 of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against women), the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Article 6 of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities), the Committee on Enforced Disappearances (Article 33 of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance) and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Article 11 of the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights) and the Committee on the Rights of the Child (Article 13 of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications procedure), these committees may, on their own initiative, conduct investigations if they receive reliable information that includes well-founded indications of gross violations or Methodology of agreements in a state party.
