How to Use this Guide

To get the most out of this guide, it is suggested that you first read the following items:

• SOME BASIC POINTS ABOUT THE UN – see page 3;
  
• GLOSSARY – see page 7;
  
• THE HUMAN RIGHTS MACHINERY OF THE UN – see pages 15 and 17;
  
• MAKING A SUBMISSION – see page 27;
  
• LOBBYING – see page 35.

These five sections will give you a feel for how the UN works and the human rights jargon with which you will need to become familiar. It is worth looking through them now, before reading the rest of this section. It is suggested that you read them in full, rather than just looking for issues of immediate interest to you or your organisation, as key points made under one heading are not repeated under others even though they may be relevant.

They will also help you to make the best use of the 27 tables towards the end of this guide which deal with specific human rights mechanisms:

• the Commission – see pages 63 – 65;
  
• the Sub-Commission – see pages 66 – 68;
  
• the Commission on the Status of Women – see pages 69 – 70;
  
• the Committees – see pages 71 – 84;
  
• the Special Rapporteurs – see pages 85 – 98; and
  
• the Working Groups – see pages 100 – 105.

This guide does not take an issue-based approach. It will not, therefore, tell you which of the tables you need to consult if, say, you want to raise issues to do with immigration or asylum. This simply reflects the fact that the UN is not organised in that way. The way to work out which mechanisms are most relevant to your concerns is to look through the contents page of this guide, where all the tables are listed. It will nearly always be worth turning to the tables on the Commission, the Sub-Commission, and the Human Rights Committee, as these all deal with human rights issues generally, and they are likely to include something that touches on your interests. For example, if you look at the table on the Human Rights Committee under the heading TYPES OF ISSUES CONSIDERED, you will see mention of freedom of movement, limited immigration rights and the right to family life, all of which may be relevant to immigration matters. Amongst the list of Special Rapporteurs you will see the topics of freedom of religion and racism, both of which may be relevant. If racism is an aspect of immigration policy that you wish to raise, you will find other relevant items on the provisional agendas for the Commission and the Sub-Commission, and in the table on the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. To take another example, if you are concerned about deaths in custody, you would look for mentions of prisoners, conditions in detention and the right to life.

Another way to find relevant mechanisms is to go straight to the provisional agendas for the Commission and the Sub-Commission and to the section headed TYPES OF ISSUES CONSIDERED in the other tables.

This guide is intended primarily for use by people in Northern Ireland, Britain and the Republic of Ireland, and concentrates on the mechanisms most likely to be of interest to them. If you cannot find any reference to your concerns, have a look at the UN’s website. A copy of its current site map can be found at page 59. This will help you to locate other mechanisms, whether they relate to a particular country or to a particular violation of human rights. If you want to contact someone whose telephone number is not in this guide, call the switchboard of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on 00 41 22 917 9000.

If you need advice on which mechanism or mechanisms are most appropriate (whether covered by this guide or not), the NGOs listed in Appendix A may be able to help, or you could contact the International Service for Human Rights - see Appendix C.

If you have an urgent case, see URGENT CASES – see page 53.

If you want to know about using special procedures for making complaints, have a look at:

• MAKING A COMPLAINT UNDER THE OPTIONAL PROTOCOLS (for Ireland only) - see page 45; and
  

• USING THE 1503 PROCEDURE - see page 49.