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Home > International Law > United Nations Systems > Enforcement Mechanisms In The United Nations > Major United Nations Enforcement Bodies > Human Rights Council > Complaint Mechanism

Complaint Mechanism - UN Human Rights Committee

last updated 10 June 2013 – Information is subject to change. Please check the Council’s website for updates.

Type of Mechanism	Complaint Procedure of the Human Rights Council
Scope of the Procedure	Patterns of gross and reliably attested violations of any human right occurring in any part of the world.
Who Can Submit a Complaint[1]	Any individual, group, or nongovernmental organization (NGO) claiming to be a victim of human rights violations or having direct and reliable knowledge of violations.
Role of Advocates	NGOs are encouraged to monitor and communicate to the Council, or assist victims in communicating to the Council, violations of women’s human rights.
Available Remedies[2]	No individual remedies are available. The Working Group on Situations (WGS) meets twice a year to review complaints accepted by the Working Group on Communications as well as Government replies. The WGS reports patterns it finds of gross and reliably attested violations of human rights to the Human Rights Council along with recommendations for action.
What the Complaint should Include[3]	The communication must include a factual description of the alleged violations. Where the information is second-hand (author does not have direct knowledge of the violation), clear evidence, not solely based on media reports, must be provided. The complaint must include information showing that the victim has exhausted domestic remedies or provide evidence that the application of national remedies would be ineffective or unreasonably prolonged. The complaint should also indicate whether the matter is or has been a subject of international investigation or settlement. Complaints which have been previously examined by the Committee or are the subject of any other international investigation will not be considered. The Human Rights Council requests that complainants complete the complaint procedure form available on the Council’s website.
Where to Send Communications	Communication should be submitted to: Complaint Procedural Unit Human Rights Council Branch OHCHR-UNOG CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland Fax: +41 22 917 90 11 E-mail: CP@ohchr.org

[1] UN OHCHR, Human Rights Council Complaint Procedure, http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/ComplaintProcedure/Pages/HRCComplaintProcedureIndex.aspx.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

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