Under article 14, paragraph 2, a State party may designate a national body which will be competent to receive and consider petitions from individuals and groups of individuals who claim to be victims of a violation of their rights set forth in the Convention and who have exhausted other available local remedies. Additional pointers Complaints under this Convention may be brought not only by or on behalf of individuals but also by or on behalf of groups of individuals. The complaints must be submitted within six months of the final decision by a national authority in the case. The fact that the same matter is pending before or has been the subject of a decision under another international procedure will not be considered an obstacle to the admissibility of the complaint. Upon registration of a complaint, the State party has three months to present submissions on the admissibility of the complaint or, if it has no objection to the admissibility, on the merits. If the State party challenges the admissibility, the complainant will have six weeks to comment on the State party’s observations. After that, the Committee will take a decision on admissibility. If the Committee concludes that the case is admissible, the State party has three more months to present observations on the merits. The complainant will then have six weeks to comment before the Committee takes a final decision on the merits of the case. Alternatively, if the State party has no objection to the admissibility of the complaint and submits comments solely on the merits, the complainant will also have six weeks to comment before the Committee takes a final decision on the merits. The rules of procedure18 of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination authorize it to invite the person filing the complaint (or his/her representative) and State party representatives to attend the proceedings in order to provide additional information or to answer questions on the merits of the case. However, such instances are exceptional and a case will not be prejudiced should the complainant fail to attend in person. When the Committee takes a decision (called an opinion) on the merits of a complaint, it often makes suggestions and/or recommendations, even if it has concluded that there has been no violation of the Convention. These suggestions or recommendations may be general or specific and addressed either to the State party in question or to all State parties to the Convention. 18 See rule 94, para. 5. 16