Human Rights of Armed Forces Personnel Before recourse is made to an international body, however, a person complaining of a human rights violation must usually first exhaust the available domestic remedies.66 This principle emphasizes two issues: the importance of national institutions in providing redress, and that international courts and other institutions are the second line of defence against violations of human rights. The rule requiring the exhaustion of domestic remedies also points to the importance of domestic constitutional and legislative protections for the human rights of armed forces members.67 Box 3.3 provides an overview of the compliance mechanisms established by some of the key treaties. Box 3.3: Human rights compliance mechanisms Establishing an expert committee ICCPR ICESCR CEDAW ICERD CRC Article 28 ECOSOC68 Article 17 Article 8 Article 43 Establishing a court ESC ILO CAT Article 25 Resolution 192669 Article 17 Articles 21-24 Article 19 of the ILO Constitution Article 19 Articles 26-34 of the ILO Constitution Article 21 Article 19 Reporting by states Article 40 Reference by other states Article 41 Individual communications Optional Protocol 170 Article 16 Optional Protocol71 Article 18 Optional Protocol72 Collective complaints 50 ECHR Article 9 Article 44 Article 11 Article 33 Article 14 Article 34 Article 22 Additional Protocol73 66 For example, ECHR, op. cit., note 24, Art. 35(1). 67 See “Chapter 4: National Protections for the Human Rights of Armed Forces Personnel” of this compendium. 68 The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights was established by the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Resolution 1985/17, 28 May 1985. 69 ILO, “Resolution Concerning the Methods by Which the Conference Can Make Use of the Reports Submitted Under Article 408 of the Treaty of Versailles, Submitted by the Committee on Article 408”, adopted at the ILO Conference’s 8th session, 1926. 70 UN General Assembly, “Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights”, 19 December 1966 (entered into force 23 March 1976), UN, Treaty Series, vol. 999, p. 171. 71 UN General Assembly, “Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights”, 5 March 2009 (entered into force 5 May 2013), A/RES/63/117. 72 UN General Assembly, “Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women”, 6 October 1999 (entered into force 20 December 2000), UN, Treaty Series, vol. 2131, p. 83. 73 Council of Europe, “Additional Protocol to the European Social Charter providing for a System of Collective Complaints”, 9 November 1995 (entered into force 1 July 1998), ETS No. 158.