FORM FOR PRESENTING PETITIONS ON HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

The following form, prepared by the Commission’s Executive Secretariat, is intended to make it easier for victims of violations, their family members, organizations of civil society or other persons to file complaints alleging human rights violations by OAS member States. 

The form is based on the information that the Commission’s Rules of Procedure require in order to process petitions and to determine whether the State, against which the complaint is brought has violated any of the human rights protected by an international treaty to which it is a party. The required information is stipulated in Article 28 of the Commission’s Rules of Procedure:

Article 28. Requirements for the Consideration of Petitions 

Petitions addressed to the Commission shall contain the following information:

a. the name, nationality and signature of the person or persons making the denunciation; or in cases where the petitioner is a nongovernmental entity, the name and signature of its legal representative(s);

b. whether the petitioner wishes that his or her identity be withheld from the State;

c. the address for receiving correspondence from the Commission and, if available, a telephone number, facsimile number, and email address;

d. an account of the act or situation that is denounced, specifying the place and date of the alleged violations;

e. if possible, the name of the victim and of any public authority who has taken cognizance of the fact or situation alleged;

f. the State the petitioner considers responsible, by act or omission, for the violation of any of the human rights recognized in the American Convention on Human Rights and other applicable instruments, even if no specific reference is made to the article(s) alleged to have been violated;

g. compliance with the time period provided for in Article 32 of these Rules of Procedure;

h. any steps taken to exhaust domestic remedies, or the impossibility of doing so as provided in Article 31 of these Rules of Procedure; and,

i. an indication of whether the complaint has been submitted to another international settlement proceeding as provided in Article 33 of these Rules of Procedure.

Before completing the attached form, please read the following instructions carefully.

The form should be filled in as completely as possible and include all available information regarding the particular act alleged to constitute one or more violations of human rights by an OAS member State.  Responses to the questions should be simple and direct.  If the requested information is not available to the person filing the complaint or does not exist, the response on the form should be “information not available” or “not pertinent,” as appropriate.  

          If more space is needed to answer a question on the form, please attach a separate sheet.         

          The form can also be filled out at the Commission’s web site:  www.cidh.org 

          Once completed, the form should be sent to the Executive Secretary of the IACHR by: 

  Mail, to the following postal address: 

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
1889 F Street, N. W.
Washington, D.C. 20006
USA

 

  Fax, to the following number:  1-202-458-3992. 

  E-mail, to the following address:    cidhoea@oas.org

 

FORM

I. PERSON OR GROUP OF PERSONS PRESENTING THE PETITION ON VIOLATIONS ALLEGEDLY COMMITTED AGAINST THEM ("VICTIM(S)") OR COMMITTED AGAINST ANOTHER PERSON OR GROUP OF PERSONS ("PETITIONER(S)")

e-mail:
Name:

(in the case of a nongovernmental entity also include the name of its legal or non-legal representative(s))

Contact Information

Address:

Telephone N°:

Fax N°:

Do you want the Commission to keep the identity of the petitioner(s) confidential during the procedure?    Yes    No

 

II.  MEMBER STATE OF THE OAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS ALLEGED BY THE PETITIONER(S):

 

III.  INCIDENT OR SITUATION DENOUNCED

Explain the incident or situation complained of in as much detail as possible, specify the place and date of the alleged human rights violations:

Available Evidence

Describe the documents that might assist in proving the violations described above and that can be provided to the Commission, for example portions of judicial procedures, forensic reports, photographs, films, etc. (Do not submit the original documents but rather copies.  In principle it is not necessary for copies of documents to be certified by a public official or notary public):

Identify witnesses to the violations described above. In the event that witnesses have given statements or depositions before judicial authorities, you should also file copies of this testimony or indicate whether it will be possible to do so in the future:

Identify the persons and or authorities responsible for the alleged violations described above:

 

IV.  HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATED (Where possible, specify the provisions of the American Convention and other applicable instruments that you consider to have been violated as a result of the situation described above:)

V. NAME AND DETAILS OF THE PERSON OR PERSONS AFFECTED BY THE HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS ALLEGED ABOVE, IN THE EVENT THAT THEY ARE DISTINCT FROM THE PERSON OR PERSONS PRESENTING THE PETITION (see point I)

Name:

 Contact Information

Address:

Telephone N°:

Fax N°:

 Where the victim is no longer alive, please identify their next-of-kin:

VI.  JUDICIAL REMEDIES AVAILABLE TO REMEDY THE SITUATION DENOUNCED

Detail the steps taken by the victim(s) or the petitioner(s) before the courts, tribunals or administrative authorities of the country responsible for the alleged violations. Also indicate whether you have not been able to initiate or complete such steps because (1) the domestic legislation of the State does not provide due process of law for the protection of the right or rights that have allegedly been violated; (2) the victim(s) or petitioner(s) have been denied access to the remedies under domestic law or have been prevented from exhausting them; or (3) there has been unreasonable delay in rendering a final judgment on the remedies described above:

In cases where the situation denounced involves crimes or other violations of public law (e.g. murder, torture), indicate whether there has been a corresponding judicial investigation and the result, or whether there has been an unreasonable delay in rendering a result in such an investigation:

In cases where domestic remedies have been exhausted, indicate the date on which the victim was notified of the final decision:

VII. INDICATE WHETHER THE COMPLAINT HAS BEEN SUBMITTED TO THE UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE OR ANOTHER INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION WITH SIMILAR CHARACTERISTICS

 

 

Signature:..........................................................

Date:.................................................................

 

[1] The member states of the OAS are Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Kitts and Nevis, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, United States, Uruguay and Venezuela.