Article 11 requires parties to ensure that those complaining under the Optional Protocol are not subjected to ill-treatment or intimidation.
The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has considered eleven complaints against seven countries since the Optional Protocol came into force, on subjects such as domestic violence, division of property, forced sterilization and parental leave.
The process was initiated in May 2012 by grassroots campaign group Disabled People Against Cuts (Dpac) under article 6 of the optional protocol within the UN convention on the rights of persons with disabilities (UNCRPD).
Of the 17 prisoners currently facing trial by Military Commission, for example, two -- Omar Khadr and Mohamed Jawad -- were juveniles when they were seized, and should have been rehabilitated rather then punished under the terms of the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (on the involvement of children in armed conflict).
Complainants must have exhausted all domestic remedies, and anonymous complaints and complaints referring to events which occurred before the country concerned joined the Optional Protocol are not permitted.
It concludes that unless greater efforts are made to highlight awareness of the Optional Protocol and build trust in the rulings of the Committee, the complaints mechanism will remain under-utilized.
The Optional Protocol prevents the recruitment of children under age 18 in to armed forces.
Article 13 requires parties to inform their citizens about the Convention, the Optional Protocol, and the rulings of the Committee, so as to facilitate complaints.
The Optional Protocol allows children, groups of children, or their representatives to file formal complaints with the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in Geneva, Switzerland, after exhausting all efforts to seek justice at the country level.
Additionally, the 1990 International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child contain provisions for individual complaints that are not yet operational.
