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Complaints to international organizations

Individuals in Canada who feel that their rights have been violated have recourse to various types of redress within Canada. For example, individuals can file human rights complaints with human rights commissions or bring court actions alleging a violations of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Individuals within Canada's jurisdiction can also bring human rights complaints to the United Nations (UN) or to the Organization of American States (OAS). Most international complaint procedures require individuals to pursue domestic remedies first and address their complaints to the international body only once domestic procedures have been exhausted.

United Nations

At the UN, complaints (also called communications) can be brought under certain international human rights treaties only and through special procedures with the Commission on Human Rights and the Commission on the Status of Women. These mechanisms are briefly described below. Each has advantages and disadvantages which should be taken into consideration in choosing the most appropriate for a claim. For more information on complaints to the UN, guidelines and a model complaint form, you should consult the Web site of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Complaints under the international human rights treaties

Individuals under Canada's jurisdiction can make complaints under three UN treaties that Canada has ratified: the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (the ICCPR), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (the CEDAW) and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (the CAT). Each of these treaties establishes a committee of independent experts to examine complaints. The complaint mechanisms of both the ICCPR and the CEDAW are found in Optional Protocols to the substantive treaties (the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women , while the mechanism for alleging violation of the rights under the CAT can be found in article 22 of the Convention.

You do not have to be a lawyer or familiar with legal and technical terms to bring a complaint before these committees. However, it is important to note that the complaint must meet certain criteria to be admissible. Thus, generally, you must have exhausted domestic remedies before filing your complaint with the UN. This means that you must have exhausted all avenues of redress within Canada, including any court action and/or complaints to human rights commissions and all possible appeals. A complaint may be inadmissible if it lacks a sufficient factual basis, if the events giving rise to the claim took place before Canada became bound by the treaty or if the complaint claims rights which are not protected by the treaty in question. As well, committees will generally not consider a case that is presently before another UN committee or international body or has previously been considered by another committee or international body. The UN Human Rights Committee (HRC), which receives complaints under the ICCPR, makes exceptions to this rule; the ICCPR provides broader protection than is available under other treaties, therefore, facts that have already been submitted to another mechanism can be brought before the HRC if the broader protections in the ICCPR are invoked.

Once you have filed a complaint, the relevant treaty committee will rule on the admissibility and merits of the case. At the admissibility stage, the committee will determine whether your case satisfies the formal requirements for a complaint as explained above. If your complaint passes this stage, the committee will then consider the merits or substance of the case on which it will determine whether your rights under the treaty have been violated. The HRC and the CAT Committee will often consider the admissibility and merits of the case simultaneously. If so requested by the complainant, the committees may keep confidential (i.e. not accessible to the public) the information submitted with the complaint.

At all stages of the complaint procedure, the Government of Canada, on its behalf or on behalf of the provincial/territorial government implicated, will be given an opportunity to comment and provide its views on your complaint (in the case of a complaint that falls under the jurisdiction of a provincial or territorial government, this government will work in consultation with the federal government in preparing Canada's response).

The process is complete either when the committee decides that your complaint is not admissible or when it decides on its merits. If the committee decides that your rights have been violated under the treaty, Canada will be asked, within a given time frame, to supply information on steps it has taken to give effect to this decision. It is important to note several things. First, the committees' views are final; there is no possibility of appealing these decisions. Second, edited versions of the committees' views are public. Third, the views are not legally binding; the State Party is not legally obligated to implement them, although committee decisions may be persuasive enough for the State Party to act accordingly.

In addition to an individual complaint mechanism as described above, the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women also provides for an inquiry process. Upon receipt, from an individual or group, of reliable information indicating the existence within a State Party of a situation of "grave or systematic" violations of the rights protected by the CEDAW, the Committee may conduct an inquiry on an urgent basis. Additional information on this Protocol is available on the Web site of Status of Women Canada.

Decisions on complaints brought against Canada can be found on this Web site. Decisions on complaints against other countries can be found on the UN Web site.

Complaints under special procedures

The Commission on Human Rights, which is made up of State representatives, does not address circumstances of individuals; however, under the "1503 procedure", the Commission will consider situations in countries and examine consistent patterns of flagrant violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms. Complaints can be made by an individual or a group that has direct and reliable knowledge of the alleged violations. Exhaustion of domestic remedies is also a prerequisite of this procedure.

Complaints can also be made to certain UN Special Rapporteurs or working groups that deal with specific countries or issues, such as violence against women, arbitrary detention, freedom of opinion and expression, and torture. Individuals or groups who have reliable information on the alleged violations can bring these to the attention of the respective mechanism.

Complaints can also be brought to the Commission on the Status of Women. This Commission does not give direct redress for individual victims of human rights violations, but rather identifies global trends and patterns concerning women's rights. Complaints can be brought by individuals or by groups.

Organization of American States

Individuals under Canada's jurisdiction can also choose to make a complaint (called a petition) to the OAS Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) alleging a violation of the rights protected by the American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man. The Declaration identifies a number of protected civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights.

Any person or group of persons or non-governmental entity legally recognized, on their own behalf or on behalf of third persons, may submit petitions concerning alleged violations of a human right recognized in the Declaration. Exhaustion of domestic remedies is required.

The IACHR will first decide on the admissibility of the petition. If it considers the communication admissible, it will decide on the merits of the case.

As in the case of complaints to the UN, the Government of Canada, on its behalf or on behalf of the provincial/territorial government implicated, will be given an opportunity to comment and provide its views on a complaint.

Once the process is complete, the IACHR will notify the complainant and the Government of Canada of its final decision. Again, it is important to note that these decisions are public and are not legally binding; the State Party is not legally obligated to implement them.

Additional information on the OAS complaint mechanism, a model form for presenting petitions, and decisions can be found on the IACHR Web site.