Guide to International Human Rights Mechanisms - Brookings

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the incident, a description of steps taken to exhaust domestic remedies, and an allegation of which
rights under the CAT have been violated, and should include copies of any relevant documents
(such as court orders in the case).
confidentiality Communications may not be anonymous and the names of both the author and
victim will be revealed to the state party that is the subject of the complaint. On request, these
names can be withheld from the eventual opinion and other public documents.
Procedure Communications are initially screened by the secretariat, which may contact the author
for further information. It is then reviewed by a Special Rapporteur on New Communications
who will decide whether or not to register the case. If registered, the Committee will transmit the
communication to the state party concerned, which has six months to reply. The author is then
given six weeks to comment on the state’s reply. The process usually takes one year or less. The
results are included in the Committee’s annual report to the General Assembly.
Potential result Individual communications may result in the Committee’s adoption of
“Decisions” finding a violation of the CAT and making recommendations, such as a halt to
violations, compensation, a change in laws, or other action. For state reports, the interventions
of IDP advocates can result in specific questions being asked of state delegations on IDP issues
and inclusion of findings and recommendations on these issues in the Committee’s concluding
observations. If the CAT undertakes an “inquiry” about serious and systemic violations in a
particular state, a summary of its findings may (or may not) be publicly released. Otherwise, all
of the Committee’s views, concluding observations, and decisions adopted during the year are
normally included in the Committee’s annual report to the General Assembly.
In its Decisions, the Committee regularly asks for information from the state party about its
compliance with the recommendations made. One member of the Committee is appointed Special
Rapporteur for Follow Up who contacts states to determine if recommendations have been followed.
All discussions with states about follow up issues are maintained confidential.
contact
International Mechanisms | Human Rights Treaty Bodies
Committee against Torture
Petitions Team
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
United Nations Office at Geneva
1211 Geneva 10
Switzerland
Fax: + 41 22 9179022 (particularly for urgent matters)
E-mail: tb-petitions@ohchr.org (include CAT in subject line)
Guide to International Human Rights Mechanisms
for Internally Displaced Persons and their Advocates 1