What information do you need to provide in your complaint?

While a complaint to a Committee, also called a “communication” or a “petition”, need not to be presented in a particular format, you are strongly encouraged to use the model complaint form that can be found at:

www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/TB/ComplaintForm.doc

You are also strongly encourages to consult the guidelines for submission of communications to the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities under the Optional Protocol to the Convention. These guidelines can be found at:

www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CRPD/Pages/OptionalProtocolRightsPersonsWithDisabilities.aspx

Among the guidelines are the following points:

• Anonymous submissions are inadmissible.
• The same matter has already been examined by the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of is being examined under another procedure of international investigation.
• All available domestic remedies have not been exhausted. This means complaints must first be submitted to the relevant Federal, Provincial, or Territorial human rights commissions or tribunals.

Your claim should be in writing, written legibly, preferably typed, and signed (complaints sent by email should be scanned). Only communications presented in one of the UN languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish) can be accepted.

The complaint should provide basic personal information - alleged victim’s name, nationality, date of birth, mailing address and email - and specify the State party against which the complaint is directed.

If the complaint is brought on behalf of another person, proof of his/her consent should be provided (no specific form required) as noted above, or the author of the complaint should state clearly why such proof cannot be provided.

If there are particularly sensitive matters of a private or personal nature that emerge in the complaint, the author of the complaint may request the Committee not to disclose his/her name or the alleged victim’s name and/or identifying elements in its final decision so that the identity of the alleged victim or that of the author does not become public. The Committee may also, at its own discretion, decide not to disclose these or other matters in the course of consideration of the complaint.

Final decisions adopted by the Committees are made public. Therefore, if complainants wish their identity not to be disclosed in the final decision, they are requested to so indicate as soon as possible. Due to the level of publicity the Committees’ decisions usually receive (including dissemination via Internet, which thus makes the correction and/or deletion of data circulating online virtually impossible), it may not be possible to satisfy requests for anonymity submitted after the publication of the Committees’ decisions.

It is essential to set out, in chronological order, all the facts on which the complaint is based. The account must be as complete as possible and contain all information relevant to the case. The complainant should also state why he/she considers that the facts described constitute a violation of the treaty in question.

It is highly recommended to identify the rights set out in the treaty alleged to have been violated.

It is also advisable to indicate the kind of remedies that the complainant would like to obtain from the State party in case the Committee concludes that the facts before it disclose a violation of his/her rights.

The complainant should also detail the steps taken to exhaust the remedies available in the State party against which the complaint is directed, that is steps taken before the State party’s local courts and authorities. The requirement to exhaust domestic remedies means that the claims must have been brought to the attention of the relevant national authorities, up to the highest available instance in the State concerned. If some of these remedies are pending or have not yet been exhausted it should also be indicated, as well as the reasons for it.

The complainant should state whether he/she has submitted his/her case to another means of international investigation or settlement. On these two matters, see the section entitled “The admissibility of your case” below for further important details.

Complainants should supply copies of all documents (no originals, only copies) of relevance to their claims and arguments, especially administrative or judicial decisions on their claims issued by national authorities. If these documents are not in an official language of the United Nations, a full or summary translation of the documents must be submitted. The documents should be listed in order by date, numbered consecutively and accompanied by a concise description of their contents. The complaint should not exceed 50 pages (excluding annexes). When it exceeds 20 pages, it should also include a short summary of up to five pages highlighting its main elements. As noted above, the information must be provided in one of the UN languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish).

If the complaint lacks essential information to be processed under these procedures or the description of facts is unclear, the complainant will be contacted by the secretariat of the United Nations (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, OHCHR) with a request for additional details or resubmission.

Complainants should be diligent in conducting correspondence with the secretariat and the information requested should be sent as soon as possible and no later than one year. If the information is not received within a year from the date of the request, the file will be closed.

When can you make a complaint under the human rights treaties?

It is important to submit the complaint as soon as possible after the exhaustion of domestic remedies. Delay in submitting the case may make it difficult for the State party to respond properly and for the treaty body to evaluate the factual background thoroughly. In some cases, submission after a protracted period may result in the case being considered inadmissible by the Committee in question.