How to File Complaints on Human Rights Violations

A Manual for Individuals and NGOs

By Klaus Hüftner (UNA Germany)

Berlin 2005 (fourth, updated and enlarged edition)         

Available  online at: http://www.unesco.de/c_humanrights/

The United Nations and Human Rights

 When the Charter of the United Nations was adopted in 1945, one of the most sacred trusts placed in the hands of the new organisation was the promotion of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion.

 Human rights is woven as an important guiding thread throughout the fabric of the UN Charter: The Preamble to the Charter and its Article 1, para. 3, contains explicit references to human rights; the Charter charges specifically the General Assembly (Article 13, para 1 b.) and the ECOSOC (Article 55 c.) with promoting respect for human rights and gives a similar mandate to the Trusteeship Council (Article 76 c.). All UN Member States are legally bound through the Charter to strive towards the full realisation of all human rights and freedoms.

 The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

 The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the General Assembly in 1948. The Declaration has played a key role in the further development of human rights instruments and became the foundation upon which the international system for protection and promotion of human rights has been built.

 The Declaration, which contains 30 Articles, claims a "common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations" and is formulated in general terms; it contains fundamental freedom rights (Articles 3-19), political rights (Articles 20-21), and also economic, social and cultural rights (Articles 22-28) without any hierarchy among them. The basic rights laid down in the Universal Declaration have given birth to over 100 international treaties, declarations or other instruments within the UN system. One can mention:

• the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR);
• the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR);
• the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD);
• the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW);
• the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT);
• the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC);
• the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (ICMW); and
• other declarations and/or conventions dealing with such matters as discrimination, genocide, slavery, and social welfare, progress and development.

 Towards a System of Human Rights Protection

 In order to create a system of human rights protection, the following order of steps was necessary: (a) the conceptualisation of a programme; (b) the definition of human rights; (c) the creation of compulsory norms; and (d) a system for the implementation and monitoring of human rights in political and legal terms.

 The Vienna World Conference on Human Rights

 The World Conference on Human Rights in 1993, where representatives of over 170 States met for the first time in 25 years to reaffirm their commitment to protect human rights, was unequivocal in confirming the universality, interdependence,indivisibility and interrelatedness of all human rights and fundamental freedoms. A call was made on all States to observe international standards of behaviour, to ratify international instruments and to strengthen the human rights machinery at both the national and international level.

 The Conference examined in detail the progress achieved in human rights, and obstacles to their full enjoyment, as well as the application of international instruments and the effectiveness of the methods and machinery established bythe UN in the field of human rights. Emphasis was placed on protecting ther ights of the most vulnerable groups, including racial, religious and ethnic minorities, indigenous populations, women and children, casualties of war, the poor, and the disabled.

 THE INCREASING ROLE ANDIMPORTANCE OF HUMAN RIGHTS NGOs

 Sixty years after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), an almost explosive growth of NGOs for the promotion and the defence of human rights has taken place. At the time of the drafting of the UDHR, some fifteen NGOs with consultative status were involved in the process. In 1993, some 1500 NGOs participated at the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna.

 Individual Complaints

Today, there are eight UN treaty bodies, namely

• the Human Rights Committee
• the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
• the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights*
• the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
• the Committee Against Torture
• the Committee on the Rights of the Child*
• the Committee on Migrant Workers
• the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

 which can receive individual communications provided the relevant State party has ratified the relevant optional protocol.**

 The model form for communications is known as Special Procedures. The activities of those mechanisms are based on communications received from various sources containing allegations of human rights violations. Besides the victims or their relatives,local and international NGOs fulfil a crucial role.

* Cannot receive individual complaints.

** Exceptions exist: the Committee onthe Elimination of Racial Discrimination, for example, provides individualc omplaints on the Convention (the convention that created the Committee) itself, as does the Convention on the Rights of Migrant Workers.

States Reports

NGOs can play an important role by getting involved in the preparation of a periodic report of a State party. They can

• urge the responsible ministry to submit the report on time;
• ensure that the report is disseminated in the country concerned as well as the minutes of the Committee's debates on the report and the concluding observations;
• submit a parallel ("shadow") report to the report of a State party;
• submit information to the pre-sessional working groups which meet at the end of each session to prepare the following session;
• attend the meetings where the reports of States parties are examined

NGOs with consultative status may attend all public meetings of the Human Rights Council, Human Rights Council's Advisory Committee, and working groups. Their main activities include 

• lobbying on resolutions including suggested wording to be used;
• convening parallel informal meetings with experts, NGO and government representatives to consider action on specific countries or themes;
• submitting reports to special procedures;
• meeting with Special Rapporteurs on themes and countries.

NGOs are well advised to concentrate their efforts to "speak with one voice." The more NGOs cooperate and intensify the dialogue among them, the stronger NGOs can present their issues orally and in written form vis-à-vis experts and government representatives.

 More Transparency through NGO Activities

There exist several "holes" in the network. It starts with the fact that many States parties made reservations and declarations. National NGOs should compile and discuss the number and the extent of the reservations and its implications in their countries.

National NGOs are advised to draw the public attention in their countries to the failure of their respective States to submit reports, on time or at all, as well as the frequent presentation of reports of poor quality and the failure to follow established guidelines those failures to fulfil and improve the regular reporting obligations.

Furthermore, NGOs should get engaged in the translation, if necessary, and dissemination ofthe reports and also the concluding observations of the treaty bodies at the national level.

NGOs should also take an active role in critically examining the work of the UN treaty bodies so that more effective performance could be achieved. One important and necessary step consists of improving the rather uneven quality of the membership of the treaty bodies. Unfortunately, the terms "personal" and "experts" are interpreted in a rather flexible way. There is room for NGOs to have some kind of input into the electoral process, an input that is presently lacking. NGOs must also not only critically examine the recommendations issued by treaty bodies, but follow up on the implementations of such recommendations.

Finally, the possibilities of concrete operational activities should be mentioned; in the context of "good governance" programmes, national human rights NGOs working on the ground can apply for financial support for projects which are  subcontracted by donor countries and UN agencies. NHRI, or National Human Rights Institutions must not be forgotten. They are crucial institutions through which NGOs may work at the domestic level.