States and their institutions can often fail to provide adequate help for refugees and asylum seekers. When a decision reached by a state is considered to be in breach of regional rules regarding the adequate treatment of refugees and asylum seekers, it is possible to challenge that decision before regional human rights bodies. See below to find information on each region.
Regional Human Rights Bodies
States and their institutions can often fail to provide adequate help for refugees and asylum seekers. When a decision reached by a state is considered to be in breach of regional rules regarding the adequate treatment of refugees and asylum seekers, it is possible to challenge that decision before regional human rights bodies. See below to find information on each region.
The Inter-American system of human rights is composed of three main bodies, the Organization of American States (OAS), the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Find more information on how to access the Inter-American system here.
The Arab Human Rights Committee of the Arab League (Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen) is the treaty body established in 2009 to oversee the implementation of the Arab Charter on Human Rights.
The lack of an enforcement mechanism of the Charter was solved by the creation of the Arab Court of Human Rights, a body that has jurisdiction over human rights complaints brought against States by other States. Complaints can also be brought by non-governmental organizations if the relevant State additionally accepts that jurisdiction. However, it fails to provide for a direct right of individual petition.
In Asia, there is the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), an independent, non-governmental body, which seeks to promote greater awareness and realization of human rights in the Asian region, and to mobilize Asian and international public opinion to obtain relief and redress for the victims of human rights violations.
Moreover, some countries of the Asian continent are also signatories to the ASEAN Charter aimed at promoting and protecting human rights. Its members created the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) in 2009, which later passed the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration (AHRD).
The African Human Rights System (AHRS) includes the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), the African Court on Human Peoples’ Rights (AfCHPR), and the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC). These bodies assess States’ compliance with human rights standards, including by deciding individual complaints of human rights violations. Find more information on how to access the African system here.
In Europe, the main judicial organ responsible for defining and overseeing States’ compliance with their regional human rights obligations is the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), created under the auspices of the Council of Europe (CoE). Find more information on how to access the ECtHR here.
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. Find more information on how to access the ECJ here.
International Courts
An international court is an international organization, or a body of an international organization, that hears cases in which one party may be a state or international organization (or body thereof), and which is composed of independent judges who follow predetermined rules of procedure to issue binding decisions on the basis of international law.
International courts are formed by treaties between nations, or by an international organization such as the United Nations – and exclude any courts arising purely under national authority.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ), also known as the Hague Court, is established by the Charter of the United Nations as the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. The ICJ has two main mechanisms. On the one hand, the Court settles legal disputes between authorized actors, mainly States but not necessarily UN members, to submit their cases before the Court in what is known as its contentious jurisdiction. On the other hand, the ICJ may provide advisory opinions on legal questions at the request of UN bodies or agencies authorized by the Charter. However, individuals can never file their cases, only when sponsored by a State.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is founded by the Rome Statute, which grants the ICC jurisdiction to investigate, prosecute and try individuals accused of committing the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole, namely genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and aggression. According to the Rome Statute, it is the duty of every State to exercise its criminal jurisdiction over those responsible for international crimes. The International Criminal Court can only intervene where a State is unable or unwilling to genuinely carry out the investigation and prosecute the perpetrators. Therefore, individuals can be prosecuted under the ICC, but no individual can be a plaintiff.
Under the ICC’s jurisdiction, crimes can be prosecuted by the Office of the Prosecutor if the crimes were committed by a State Party national, or in the territory of a State Party, or in a State that has accepted the jurisdiction of the Court; or the crimes were referred to the ICC Prosecutor by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) pursuant to a resolution adopted under chapter VII of the UN charter.
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