Comparing Human Rights Systems

United Nations

Council of Europe

Inter-American System

African Union

Source

1945 - Charter of the United Nations

1949 - Treaty of London

1948 (in force 1951; amended 1970) - Charter of the Organization of American States;

1969 (in force 1978) - American Convention on Human Rights

1981 (in force 1986) - African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights

Declaration of Human Rights

Dec. 1948 - Universal Declaration of Human Rights

1950 (in force 1953) - European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms

May 1948 - American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man

Charter (above);

Grand Bay Declaration and Plan of Action on Human Rights

Commission

-

1949 - European Commission of Human Rights (abolished with Protocol No. 11)

1959 (1^st session 1960) - Inter-American Commission on Human Rights

1981 (in force 1986) - African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights

Protocol

-

1959 - Protocol No. 11 (created the Court)

1967 (in force 1970) - Protocol of Buenos Aires (transformed the Commission into a Charter body)

1998 (in force 2004) - Protocol to the Charter (created the Court)

Court

-

1959 (1^st case 1960) - European Court of Human Rights

1969 - Inter-American Court of Human Rights

2006 (1^st decision 2009) - African Court of Human and People’s Rights

Predecessor

1918 - League of Nations

-

1890 - International Union of American Republics (later called the Pan-American Union)

1963 - Organization of African Unity