key international and european human rights monitoring and complaint mechanisms
DESCRIPTION
KEY International and European human rights monitoring and complaint mechanisms. Human Rights Monitoring and Complaint Mechanisms. UN/European (Council of Europe) Judicial/non-judicial. UN Human Rights Bodies. Charter-based bodies (5) Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
KEY INTERNATIONAL AND
EUROPEAN HUMAN RIGHTS MONITORING AND COMPLAINT
MECHANISMS
Human Rights Monitoring and Complaint Mechanisms
UN/European (Council of Europe)
Judicial/non-judicial
UN Human Rights Bodies
Charter-based bodies (5) Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review Commission on Human Rights Special Procedures of the Human
Rights Council Human Rights Council Complaint
Procedure
Treaty based bodies (10) Human Rights Committee (CCPR) Committee on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights (CESCR)
Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD)
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
Committee against Torture (CAT) Subcommittee on Prevention of Tort
ure (SPT)
Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
Committee on Migrant Workers (CMW)
Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)
Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED)
UN Complaint Procedures
Individual communications not all HR treaty bodies can consider individual complaints Individual who claims his/her human rights have been violated or a third
party on a behalf of the individuals State-to-state complaints
Never used Inquiries
HR body may on its own initiative initiate inquiries if they have received reliable information containing well-founded indications of serious or systematic violations of the conventions in a State party.
Only CAT and CEDAW Applicable to SRB, MK, RO
Special procedures mechanisms to address either specific country situations or thematic issues,
including the right to health, in all parts of the world Activities: responding to individual complaints, conducting studies, providing
advice on technical cooperation at the country level, promotional activities Human Rights Council complaint procedure
Individual communications
Only 5 human rights bodies can consider individual complaints (communications)
The most relevant for Roma health rights: Human Rights Committee - communications
relating to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
CEDAW - the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
CAT - Convention Against Torture CERD - the Convention on the Elimination of
Racial Discrimination
Lodging a complaint - general rules
Anyone claiming his/her rights have been violated
Possibility to bring a claim on behalf of another person if his/her written consent is obtained and provided to the committee
Against a State that is party to the treaty and recognized competence of the committee
No particular form; in written and signed by the applicant
In one of the working languages
Lodging a complaint - content
Provide basic personal information Specify State party against which claim is directed Set out, in chronological order, all the facts on which the claim
is based Describe the steps taken to exhaust the remedies available
domestically State whether the case have been submitted to another
means of international investigation or settlement Explain why the facts outlined in the claim constitute a human
rights violation of the treaty Not strictly necessary to identify the specific articles of the
treaty that have allegedly been violated. Provide evidence - supply all documents of relevance to the
claims and arguments Legal aid is not provided by the procedure NO TIME LIMITS!!! Exception, CERD – 6 month after the final
decision at national level
Interim measures
Each committee has the facility to take urgent action where irreparable harm would otherwise be suffered before the case is examined in the usual course
Such requests are issued to prevent actions that cannot later be undone
It is advisable to state request for urgent action explicitly in the claim
Admissibility criteria
Provided proof of consent if acting on behalf of another person
Victim has to demonstrate personal and direct affect of the law, policy, practice, act or omission of the State party
Compatibility of the complaint with rights actually protected by the treaty
Sufficiently substantiated complaint Exhaustion of all domestic remedies. Limited exceptions to
this rule Bringing repeated claims to the committee on the same
issue although they have already been dismissed Reservation of the State precluding the complaint Complaint being examined under another mechanism of
international settlement
Committee’s decision
Case is inadmissible Case constitutes violation of the treaty Case does not constitutes violation of the
treaty
Committee’s decision is final If found that the applicant was a victim of a
violation of the State party, it invites the State party to supply information within three months on the steps it has taken to give effect to its findings
European HR complaint mechanisms
Key instruments ECHR – European Convention on Human Rights European Social Charter (Revised)
Key mechanisms ECtHR – European Court of Human Rights ECSR – European Committee of Social Rights
European Committee of Social Rights
The rights guaranteed by the Charter concern all individuals in their daily lives: Housing Health Education Employment Legal and Social Protection Free movement of persons Non-discrimination
The ECHR’s mandate: to judge that States party are in conformity in law and in practice with the provisions of the European Social Charter.
Collective complaint mechanism – but RO, SRB and MK have not ratified protocol on collective complaint mechanisms
European Court of Human Rights
ECtHR protects the rights guaranteed in the ECHR ECHR- does not explicitly protect right to health Right to health (including patient’s rights) can be
brought under the right to life, prohibition of inhuman and degrading treatment, respect for private and family life, right to effective legal remedy, prohibition of discrimination
Key admissibility criteria: Individual application Victim status Right guaranteed under ECHR All available domestic legal remedies exhausted Time limit: 6 months from the final decision at national
level Other
Examples of health rights violations
Right to PrivacyEXAMPLES OF (POTENTIAL) VIOLATIONS A doctor discloses a patient’s history of drug use or addiction
without his or her consent Government requires disclosure of HIV status on certain forms Health care workers require young people to obtain parental Consent as a condition of receiving sexual health services
Right to InformationEXAMPLES OF (POTENTIAL) VIOLATIONS Government bans publications about drug use or harm reduction,
claiming it promotes illegal activity Young people are deliberately denied information about sexually
transmitted diseases (STDs) and the use of condoms Roma women lack access to information on sexual and
reproductive health
Examples of health rights violations
Right to Bodily IntegrityEXAMPLES OF (POTENTIAL) VIOLATIONS A Roma woman is sterilized against her will Doctors compel a drug-using pregnant woman to undergo an
abortion Treatment is routinely given to residents of an institution without
their consent as they are assumed to lack the capacity to make decisions about their treatment and care
Right to LifeEXAMPLES OF (POTENTIAL) VIOLATIONS Doctors refuse to treat a person who is experiencing a drug overdose
because drug use is illegal, resulting in the person’s death Drug users die as a result of poor fire safety in a locked hospital
ward The mortality rate of an institution is particularly high during the winter months due to the poor condition of the building, inadequate sanitation and heating, and poor quality of care
Examples of health rights violations
Right to LifeEXAMPLES OF (POTENTIAL) VIOLATIONS Doctors refuse to treat a person who is experiencing a drug overdose
because drug use is illegal, resulting in the person’s death Drug users die as a result of poor fire safety in a locked hospital ward The mortality rate of an institution is particularly high during the winter
months due to the poor condition of the building, inadequate sanitation and heating, and poor quality of care
Right to the Highest Attainable Standard of HealthEXAMPLES OF (POTENTIAL) VIOLATIONS State fails to take progressive steps to ensure access to antiretroviral drugs
for people living with HIV or to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission Doctors and health facilities are not located in proportionate proximity to
certain poor neighborhoods State systematically fails to provide training in palliative care for its medical
personnel A child in a social care home becomes bedridden due to malnutrition Women with mental disabilities are denied reproductive health