PART III 12 INTERNATIONAL REFERRALS 12.3 OTHER ORGANIZATIONS DEALING WITH HUMAN RIGHTS Among international organizations dealing with individual human rights cases outside the UN and European systems, the most notable are the following: The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is involved with international humanitarian law, conflict situations, missing persons, prisoners of war, conditions of detention, emergency relief for refugees and internally displaced persons, and other human rights-related issues. As discussed elsewhere in this handbook, the ICRC may become involved in various ways in individual human rights cases. The ICRC conducts its dealings with governments on a confidential basis. The International Organization for Migration is frequently involved in providing assistance to individuals whose rights may have been violated, including displaced persons, refugees, and victims of trafficking in human beings. A number of international NGOs specialize in human rights and frequently raise individual cases with governments. Among the best known and most widely active in the OSCE area are the International Helsinki Federation, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch. OSCE participating States are committed to recognizing NGOs, to facilitating their activities, to welcoming NGO observation of their compliance with human dimension commitments, and to allowing NGOs to convey their views to any participating State.60 Through these and other commitments, the OSCE has acknowledged the important role of NGOs in promoting and protecting human rights. NGOs have no specific powers over governments; their strength lies in their ability to generate public pressure and to react very quickly and in flexible ways to allegations of individual rights violations. International NGOs can be valuable partners for OSCE field operations in dealing with individual cases, both in gathering information and in encouraging positive action. 60 Moscow Document, Paragraph 43-43.4. 108