Claiming Human Rights

Conceivable Actions related to CAT

A person being victim of assumed violations of the Convention against Torture can act in two ways. On the one hand by reporting to NGOs the case of violation of which he/she has knowledge so that the information would be reported to the Committee against Torture for a later investigation. On the other hand by starting the procedure of an individual complaint, if the referred State has accepted this competence of the Committee.

Individual Communications

Under Article 22 of the Convention, the States parties may declare that they recognize the Committee’s competence to receive and consider communications (complaints) from, or on behalf of, individuals who claim to be victims of a violation of the provisions of the Convention.

For a communication to be declared admissible, it must not:

• be anonymous or incompatible with the provisions of the Convention
• constitute an abuse of the right to submit a communication under Article 22
• have been examined by or be under the examination of another international authority
• the persons who claim a violation of the rights protected by the Convention against Torture must have attempted to assert their claim at any level of jurisdiction in their country (requirement of exhausting all domestic possibilities of recourse)

The Committee may request the State party concerned or the author of the communication to submit additional information or clarification relevant for the question of admissibility. If the Committee decides that a communication is admissible, the author of the communication and the State party are informed.

It then examines its substance. The State party has six months for the submission of its explanations to the Committee or for the information about the measures it may have taken to remedy the situation. The authors of the communication may also provide further information and be invited, if the Committee deems it necessary, to participate in its private meetings. During this period the Committee may request the State party concerned to take measures in order avoid irreparable damage to the alleged victim of the violation. This provisional measure does not prejudge the Committee’s final decision, but is supposed to offer protection to a person who claims a violation of the Convention.

The decision of the Committee is then transmitted to the author of the communication and to the State party concerned. The Committee invites the State party to inform it of the measures it has taken in the light of that decision.

The individual communications are considered in private meetings; all documents are confidential. However, the Committee includes in its annual report a summary of the communications examined, of the explanations of the States parties concerned, and of its own views.

The communications submitted to the Committee against Torture have to be sent to the following address:

African States having recognized the Competence of the Committee

In Africa, the States having accepted the competence of the Committee are (as of 1 October 2008):