APPENDIX I - LIST OF RELEVANT INSTRUMENTS
All of the instruments listed below are potentially of relevance to anyone
wishing to submit allegations of ill-treatment to international bodies, or indeed
within the national system. They have been arranged thematically in order to
make it easier to pick out all instruments relevant to a specific topic. Within
the thematic divisions, they have then been subdivided according to their origin,
i.e. the international organisation which created them. For reasons of space,
it has not been possible to reproduce all of the instruments here, but references
have been given in Appendix II to possible sources
for obtaining copies of the instruments.
- GENERAL HUMAN RIGHTS INSTRUMENTS:
United Nations:
- Universal Declaration of Human Rights
- International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
- Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
Council of Europe:
- European Convention on Human Rights
Organisation of American States:
- American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man
- American Convention on Human Rights
Organisation of African Unity:
- African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights
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- TORTURE-SPECIFIC HUMAN RIGHTS INSTRUMENTS:
United Nations:
- Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Being Subjected to Torture
and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
- Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment
or Punishment
Council of Europe:
- European Convention on the Prevention of Torture
Organisation of American States:
- Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture
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- GENERAL STANDARDS FOR THE TREATMENT OF PERSONS
IN OFFICIAL CUSTODY:
United Nations:
- Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners
- Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners
- Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention
or Imprisonment
- United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty
- United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile
Justice ("The Beijing Rules")
Council of Europe:
- European Prison Rules
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- PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS:
United Nations:
- Principles of Medical Ethics relevant to the Role of Health Personnel, particularly
Physicians, in the Protection of Prisoners and Detainees against Torture and
Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
- Model Autopsy Rules
- Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials
- Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials
- Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers
- Guidelines on the Role of Prosecutors
- Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary
Council of Europe:
- Declaration on the Police
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- INSTRUMENTS RELATING TO WOMEN:
United Nations:
- Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
- Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
- Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women
Organisation of American States:
- Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication
of Violence Against Women
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- INSTRUMENTS RELATING TO CHILDREN:
United Nations:
- Declaration on the Rights of the Child
- Convention on the Rights of the Child
- United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty
- United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile
Justice ("The Beijing Rules")
Organisation of African Unity:
- African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child
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- INSTRUMENTS RELATING TO PERSONS DETAINED ON
MENTAL HEALTH GROUNDS:
United Nations:
- Principles for the Protection of Persons with Mental Illnesses and the Improvement
of Mental Health Care
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- INSTRUMENTS RELATING TO RACIAL DISCRIMINATION, APARTHEID
AND GENOCIDE:
United Nations:
- United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
- International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
- Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide
- International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime
of Apartheid
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- INSTRUMENTS RELATING TO DISAPPEARANCES AND
EXTRA-JUDICIAL EXECUTIONS:
United Nations:
- Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances
- Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-legal,
Arbitrary and Summary Executions
Organisation of American States:
- Inter-American Convention on the Forced Disappearance of Persons
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- HUMANITARIAN LAW INSTRUMENTS:
- Geneva Convention I for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded
and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field
- Geneva Convention II for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick
and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea
- Geneva Convention III relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War
- Geneva Convention IV relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time
of War
- Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating
to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I)
- Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating
to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts (Protocol
II)
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- OTHER RELEVANT INSTRUMENTS:
United Nations:
- Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs
of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognised Human Rights and
Fundamental Freedoms ("Declaration on Human Rights Defenders")
- Safeguards Guaranteeing Protection of the Rights of Those Facing the Death
Penalty
- Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse
of Power
- Statute of the International Criminal Court
