Inter-American Court on Human Rights

Established in 1979, this is an autonomous judicial institution of the Organization of American States. The Court’s objective is the Application and interpretation of the American Convention on Human Rights and other related treaties. In contrast to the European Human Rights system, individual citizens of the OAS Member States are not permitted to take cases directly to the Court but must first lodge a complaint with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and have that body rule on the admissibility of the claim. If ruled admissible and the State is deemed at fault, the Commission will generally serve a list of recommendations to make amends for violations. Only if the State fails to abide by the recommendations will the matter be referred to the Court.

African Court on Human Rights

The protocol to the African Charter on Human Rights and Peoples’ Rights calls for the establishment of an African Human Rights Court. Once the Court has been established, State Parties will be entitled to bring cases before the Court and the Court will also entitle particular NGOs and individuals to bring cases before it.

International Court of Justice (World Court)

The International Court of Justice is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. Established in 1945 by the Charter of the United Nations and located in The Hague, Netherlands, the Court’s role is to settle, in accordance with international law, legal disputes submitted to it by States and to give advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by authorized United Nations organs and specialized agencies. It has occurred that a Member State has withdrawn from compulsory jurisdiction of the Court, accepting the Court’s jurisdiction only on a case-by-case basis. Chapter XIV of the United Nations Charter authorizes the UN Security Council to enforce World Court rulings, with such enforcement subject to the veto power of the five permanent members of the Security Council.

International Criminal Court

This Court is an independent permanent court that tries persons accused of the most serious crimes of international concern, namely genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Located in The Hague and based on the Rome Statute, a treaty, it is legally and functionally independent from the United Nations. The Rome Statute does, however, give certain powers to the United Nations Security Council to refer cases to the Court that do not otherwise fall under the Court’s jurisdiction. The Court is designed to complement existing national judicial systems: It can exercise jurisdiction only when national courts are unwilling or unable to prosecute such crimes. The Court can issue arrest warrants but depends on Member States to enforce these. There are 106 Member States, which does not include the United States, China, Russia and India. It is a court of last resort.

THE ROLE OF NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS

Globally, the champions of human rights have most often been citizens, not government officials. In particular, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have played a primary role in focusing the international community on human rights issues. For example, NGO activities surrounding the 1995 United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China, drew unprecedented attention to serious violations of the human rights of women. NGOs such as Amnesty International, the Anti-Slavery Society, International Commission of Jurists, International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs, Human Rights Watch, Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights, and Survivors International, monitor the actions of governments and pressure them to act according to human rights principles.

Today, all 192 Member States of the United Nations have adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and a body of international law exists to protect them. The Declaration remains the central call to freedom and justice for all peoples throughout the world.

Yet although human rights exist, are recognized at least in principle by most nations, and form the heart of many national constitutions, the actual situation in the world is far distant from the ideals envisioned in the Declaration.