Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(relevant excerpts)International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
(relevant excerpts)International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights
(relevant excerpts)Optional Protocol to The International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights
(relevant excerpts)The European Convention on Human Rights
(relevant excerpts)Concluding Document from The Vienna Conference of
The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, March 1989
(excerpts)
OPTIONAL PROTOCOL TO THE INTERNATIONAL COVENANT ON CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS
(relevant excerpts)
Of the countries covered in this publication, the Optional Protocol has been ratified by:
Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Russian Federation, Spain and Sweden
The States Parties to the present Protocol, Considering that in order further to achieve the purpose of the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (hereinafter referred to as the Covenant) and the implementation of its provisions it would be appropriate to enable the Human Rights Committee set up in part IV of the Covenant (hereinafter referred to as the Committee) to receive and consider, as provided in the present Protocol, communications from individuals claiming to be victims of violations of any of the rights set forth in the Covenant,
Have agreed as follows:
Article 1
A State Party to the Covenant that becomes a party to the present Protocol recognises the competence of the Committee to receive and consider communications from individuals subject to its jurisdiction who claim to be victims of a violation by the State Party of any of the rights set forth in the Covenant. No communication shall be received by the Committee if it concerns a State Party to the Covenant which is not party to the present Protocol.
Article 2
Subject to the provisions of article 1, individuals who claim that any of their rights enumerated in the Covenant have been violated and who have exhausted all available domestic remedies may submit a written communication to the Committee for consideration.
Article 3
The Committee shall consider inadmissable any communication under the present Protocol which is anonymous, or which it considers to be an abuse of the right of submission of such communications or to be incompatible with the provisions of the Covenant.
Article 4
1. Subject to the provisions of article 3, the Committee shall bring any communications submitted to it under the present Protocol to the attention of the State Party to the Protocol alleged to be violating any provision of the Covenant.
2. Within six months, the receiving State shall submit to the Committee written explanations or statements clarifying the matter and the remedy, if any, that may have been taken by the State.
Article 5
1. The Committee shall consider communications received under the present Protocol in the light of all written information made available to it by the individual and by the State Party concerned.
2. The Committee shall not consider any communication from an individual unless it has ascertained that:
(a) The same matter is not being examined under another procedure of international investigation or settlement;
(b) The individual has exhausted all available domestic remedies.
This shall not be the rule where the application of the remedies is unreasonably prolonged.
3. The Committee shall hold closed meetings when examining communications under the present Protocol.
4. The Committee shall forward its views to the State Party concerned and to the individual.
Article 6
The Committee shall include in its annual report under Article 45 of the Covenant a summary of its activities under the present Protocol.
Continued...
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