Human Rights mechanisms and competence of treaty bodies

Treaty bodies	Human Rights Committee	Committee on economic, social and cultural rights	Committee on elemination of racial discrimination	Committee on the elimination of discrimination against women	Committee against torture	Comittee on the rights of the child	Committee on the rights of persons with disabilities	Committee on migrant workers	Committee on enforced disappearances
Instruments monitored by the Committees	International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (16/12/66 (ICCPR)) Optional Protocol aiming at the abolition of the death penalty (15/12/89)	International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (16/12/66 (ICESCR) Optional Protocol to the ICESCR (10/12/2008)	International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (21/12/65 (ICERD))	Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (18/12/79 (CEDAW)) CEDAW Optional Protocol (6/10/1999)	Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (10/12/84 (CAT))	Convention on the Rights of the Child (20/11/89 (CRC)) Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflicts (25/05/00) Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (25/05/00)	Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (13/12/06 (CRPD)) Optional Protocol on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (12/12/06)	International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (18/12/90 (ICRMW))	International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances (20/12/06)
Inter-State Communications	Art. 41-43 ICCPR Possibility of appointing an ad hoc Conciliation Commission This procedure only applies to States that recognise this competence of the ICCPR Committee	Article 10 OP-ICESCR This procedure only applies to States that recognise this competence of the CESCR Committee	Art. 11-13 CERD Possibility of appointing an ad hoc Conciliation Commission This procedure applies to all CERD State parties	Art. 21 CAT This procedure only applies to States that recognise this competence of the CAT Committee			Art. 76 CMW This procedure only applies to States that recognise this competence of the CMW Committee
Individual complaints	Yes The State concerned must have ratified the 1st Optional ICCPR Protocol	Yes The State concerned must have ratified the CESCR Optional Protocol to the ICESCR	Yes The State concerned must have made the Declaration specified in CERD Article 14	Yes The State concerned must have ratified the CEDAW Optional Protocol	Yes The State concerned must have made the Declaration specified in CAT Article 22	No✶ This Committee cannot consider complaints from individuals	Yes The State concerned must have ratified the CRPD Optional Protocol	Yes on entry into force) For this Committee to be able to consider individual complaints, 10 State parties must have accepted the procedure (CMW Article 77	Yes For this Committee to be able to consider individual complaints, 10 State parties must have accepted the procedure (Article 31)
Urgent interim measures in connection with individual complaints	Article 92 Rules of Procedure of ICCPR	Art. 5 CESCR Protocol	Article 94 Rules of Procedure of CERD Committee	Article 63 Rules of Procedure of CEDAW Committee	Article 108 Rules of Procedure of CAT Committee
Inquiries and visits	No	Art. 11 OP-ICESCR		Art. 8-10 CEDAW Optional Protocol. The States parties to the CEDAW Protocol can refuse this competence of the Committee by making a declaration under Article 10 of the Protocol	Art. 20 CAT The States parties can refuse this competence of the Committee by making a declaration under Article 28 of CAT		Art. 6(2)

✶ The Convention on the Rights of the Child does not allow the Committee of experts set up to monitor its implementation to receive individual complaints. Complaints by individuals concerning alleged violations of the rights of the child must therefore be brought before other Committees.