Objectives
 

                    The objective of the Optional Protocol is to allow individuals or groups of individuals who have exhausted national remedies to petition the Committee directly about alleged violations of the Convention by their Governments. The Optional Protocol also permits the Committee to conduct inquiries into grave or systematic violations of the Convention in countries that are parties to the Convention and to the Optional Protocol.
 

                Key Provisions
 

                    States parties to the Optional Protocol undertake to make the Convention and the Protocol widely known and to facilitate access to information about the views and recommendations of the Committee. They are also required to take all appropriate measures to ensure that individuals under their jurisdiction are not subjected to ill-treatment or intimidation when they take advantage of the Protocol's procedure or provide information associated with these procedures. States which ratify or accede to the Optional Protocol may not enter reservations to its terms, but they are able to opt-out of the inquiry procedure.
 
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Entry into force:  Not yet in force (the Optional Protocol will enter into force three months after the date of deposit with the Secretary-General of the United Nations of the tenth instrument of ratification or accession, in accordance with its article 16) Status as at 15 June 2000:  Signatories:  43  Contracting Parties:  5