PART II 4 WHAT IS AN INDIVIDUAL COMPLAINT? In general, individuals alleging human rights violations are expected to seek a remedy through established domestic means before seeking international assistance. Before becoming involved, missions should consider whether complainants have attempted to resolve their problem through national means, such as courts, ombudsman offices, or other avenues. However, if circumstances in the host country are such that effective and timely domestic remedies are either not available or seem unlikely, or if the allegation is sufficiently grave or urgent, missions can become involved even when domestic remedies have not been pursued. If a complaint clearly has no merit or credibility, or if it may be legitimate but does not involve violations of OSCE commitments or other international human rights standards, then the complainant should be so informed within a reasonable period of time in order not to create a false impression that the mission has agreed to pursue the case. If appropriate, the mission could direct the complainant elsewhere to pursue his or her grievance. If the complaint has possible merit but the mission makes a preliminary determination that it is not in a position to become involved, the mission should be prepared to offer the complainant some suggestions about how he or she might pursue a remedy. This advice could include referring the complainant to appropriate government offices, courts, or other groups that deal with human rights issues. If there are free or low-cost legal services available in the country, these are also valuable resources. It is a good practice for missions to develop and regularly update a handout on how to pursue domestic remedies and on local resources that might be available to help complainants. Chapters 8 and 11 provide information on national and international referral systems that missions might wish to recommend. If the mission decides to pursue the case further, it will need to make a judgement as to how to proceed. In some cases, the complaint may be so compelling and urgent that the mission decides to take action immediately on the basis of the information initially provided. This might be the case, for example, if someone’s life or safety is apparently in danger, or if a prominent leader is arrested. In many instances, however, the mission may wish to obtain further information before taking action. Such information may be gathered through a more thorough interview with the complainant or by obtaining more information from witnesses and others who may have knowledge of an incident, by checking with independent sources, and through inquiries with the authorities about the incident and their response to it. If the mission decides to make further inquiries or to take other action on the complaint, it should inform the complainant of its intentions. It should also request that 38