The Human Rights Committee is a group of 18 experts who meet three times a year to consider the five-yearly reports submitted by United Nations member states on their compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. United Nations - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights is a United Nations treaty based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, created in 1966. ...

Those states that have signed the First Optional Protocol (currently 104 countries), have agreed to allow persons within the member state to obtain an opinion from the Committee regarding violations of that Covenant. For those countries, the Human Rights Committee can thus function as a mechanism for the international redress of human rights abuses, similar to the regional mechanisms afforded by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights or the European Court of Human Rights. The First Optional Protocol came into effect on 23 March 1976. In international law and international relations, a protocol is a treaty or international agreement that supplements a previous treaty or international agreement. ... The Inter-American Court of Human Rights is an autonomous judicial institution based in the city of San José, Costa Rica. ... European Court of Human Rights building in Strasbourg The European Court of Human Rights, often referred to informally as the Strasbourg Court, was created to systematise the hearing of human rights complaints from Council of Europe member states. ... March 23 is the 82nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (83rd in Leap years). ... 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1976 calendar). ...

The Second Optional Protocol, in force since 11 July 1991, addresses the abolition of the death penalty and has been ratified by 53 states. July 11 is the 192nd day (193rd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 173 days remaining. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... It has been suggested that Capital punishment debate be merged into this article or section, because the split violates the Wikipedia:Content forking guideline. ...

The members of the Human Rights Committee, who must be "of high moral character and recognized competence in the field of human rights", are elected by the member states but on a personal basis, not as representatives of their countries. They serve four-year terms, with one-half of their number elected every second year at the General Assembly. United Nations General Assembly - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ...

The Human Rights Committee should not be confused with the more high-profile Commission on Human Rights, a Charter-based mechanism, or its proposed replacement, the Human Rights Council. Whereas the Commission on Human Rights is a political forum where states debate all human rights concerns, the Human Rights Committee is a treaty-based mechanism where a group of experts examine reports and rule on individual communications pertaining only to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It remains disputed whether the Human Rights Committee's in principle non-binding final views qualify as decisions of a quasi-judicial body or simply constitute authoritative interpretations on the merits of the cases brought before them for the members of the Optional Protocol of the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. United Nations Commission on Human Rights - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... United Nations Charter Opened for signature June 26, 1945 at San Francisco Entered into force October 24, 1945 Conditions for entry into force Ratification by the Republic of China, France, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the United States of... The United Nations Human Rights Council is an international body within the United Nations with the purpose of addressing human rights violations. ... A treaty is a binding agreement under international law concluded by subjects of international law, namely states and international organizations. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

External links

• Human Rights Committee on the web pages of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, www.unhchr.ch