United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

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United NationsOffice of the High Commissioner
for Human Rights

• The individual complaints procedure under the
  treaty bodies

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Treaties with individual complaints procedure

• Optional Protocol (OP) to the International
  Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)
• International Convention on the Elimination of
  All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD)
• International Convention against Torture or Other
  Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
  Punishment (CAT)

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Treaties with individual complaints procedure

• OP to the Convention on the Elimination OF All
  Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
• OP to the Convention on the Rights of Persons
  with Disabilities
• OP to the Convention on the Protection of the
  Rights of All Migrant Workers and Their Families
  and OP to the Covenant on Economic Social and
  Cultural Rights are not yet in force

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Monitoring

• Treaties are monitored by  treaty bodies 
• - Committees of independent experts, composed of
  between 10 and 23 experts
• - Elected biannually by States parties to the
  ICCPR, having regard to equitable geographic
  distribution

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Ratifications by Ireland
ICCPR OP to ICCPR CAT Dec. art.22 CERD Dec. art.14 CEDAW Op to CEDAW
YES 8/3/90 YES 8/3/90 YES 11/5/02 YES 11/4/02 YES 28/1/01 YES 29/12/00 YES 22/1/86 YES 22/12/00
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Violations against Ireland

• Violation of ICCPR in one case
• No. 819/1998, Kavanagh v. Ireland (violation
  article 26)
• No cases registered against Ireland before the
  CERD, CAT, or CEDAW

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• The Human Rights Committee

• The Committee considers that the State party
  has failed to demonstrate that the decision to
  try the author before the Special Criminal Court
  was based upon reasonable and objective grounds.
  Accordingly, the Committee concludes that the
  author's right under article 26 to equality
  before the law and to the equal protection of the
  law has been violated.

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The individual complaints procedure

• Who can complain?
• Any individual under the jurisdiction of a State
  party
• What can be complained of?
• Violations by the State party of one or more of
  the rights protected under the relevant treaty
• How are submissions made?
• In principle, the procedure is written and
  confidential there are no oral hearings

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Principal admissibility criteria (continued)

• exhaustion of domestic remedies
• should not be pending before another instance of
  international investigation or settlement

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Principal admissibility criteria

• events took place after the entry into force of
  the complaint mechanism - ratione temporis
• must be a vicitm of a violation - not actio
  popularis
• adequate substantiation
• compatible with the provisions of the treaty -
  ratione materiae

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Interim measures of protection

• Basis Committees rules of procedures
• Objective to avoid  irreparable harm  to the
  author
• Categories of cases in which such measures are
  requested risk of imminent execution,
  extradition, deportation

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Views effect and follow-up

• Views become public documents
• On finding a violation , State party is
  requested to offer an effective remedy
• Legal status no legally enforceable title,
  but good faith obligation on States parties to
  implement
• Special Rapporteur on follow-up to Views

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For further information

• Contact
• Petitions Unit
• Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
• Palais Wilson
• CH-1201 Geneva
• Fax [phone]
• E-mail tb-petitions_at_ohchr.org