Form

You do not need to fill in a specific form, but the Committee strongly encourages using the model form it has developed.

Download Model Complaint Form.

Language

You need to submit your complaint in one of the United Nations languages: English, French, Arabic, Chinese, Spanish or Russian.

Content

In your application, you need to state clearly:

  • your full name, nationality, date of birth and contact details
  • the State which has violated your rights
  • which human rights have been violated
  • how they were violated (what happened, in chronological order, starting from the beginning to the end)
  • when it happened
  • which state institutions or officials were involved
  • a detailed description about where you complained about the violation (to which institutions or officials you complained about this situation and what their responses were, from the first complaint to the last decision)
  • the application needs to be signed and dated

You application needs to be clear and understandable and have sufficient arguments based on facts and law to show that there was a violation. Try to write only about facts and issues which were related to the violation you are complaining about. To help the Human Rights Committee to better understand what has happened, try to keep the text simple, focused and avoid emotional or derogatory language.

Documents

You have to add all the documents (especially complaints you have made and the responses received) that are related to the situation you are complaining about to your application. If you are writing on someone else’s behalf, you need to add a power of attorney authorising you to do so. If these documents are not in one of the United Nations languages, you need to add a full, or a summary of, the translation of these documents.

Time limits

You should submit your complaint as soon as possible after you have exhausted all of the available national complaint mechanisms. An application with all the additional documents should be sent to the Committee as soon as possible. There is no set deadline for sending the application, however, if it is submitted 5 years after the last national decision, the Committee may refuse to examine it.

Address

Applications must be sent to the following address:

Petitions and Inquiries Section
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
United Nations Office at Geneva
1211 Geneva 10
Switzerland

Legal aid

You are not entitled to a free lawyer to represent or assist you with your complaint to the Human Rights Committee. 

If you want to hire a lawyer, you have to take into account that you will have to pay for his/her services yourself. Detailed information about what to write in your application is available on the website of the Human Rights Committee.

Human Rights Guide

A European platform for human rights education