International Human Rights Law - Regional Protection and Institutions

Regional Protection and Institutions

Regional systems of international human rights law supplement and complement national and international human rights law by protecting and promoting human rights in specific areas of the world. There are three key regional human rights instruments which have established human rights law on a regional basis. These are:

  • the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights for Africa (1981, in force since 1986)
  • the American Convention on Human Rights for the Americas (1969, in force since 1978)
  • the European Convention on Human Rights for Europe (1950, in force since 1953)

Organization of American States and Council of Europe, like UN, have also adopted (but, unlike UN, later) separate treaties (with weaker implementation mechanisms) containing catalogues of economic, social and cultural rights, as opposed to their aforementioned conventions dealing mostly with civil and political rights.

  • European Social Charter for Europe (1961, in force since 1965, complaints mechanism created under 1995 Additional Protocol, in force since 1998)
  • Protocol of San Salvador to the ACHR for the Americas (1988, in force since 1999)

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