Part II: Preventing torture: NHRIs in action of communications it receives. All admissible communications and recommendations are transmitted to the Working Group on Situations. The Working Group on Situations is composed of five members appointed by regional groups from Members States of the Human Rights Council. It presents the Council with a report on consistent patterns of gross and reliably attested violations of human rights and makes recommendations on the course of action to take. The Council examines reports of the Working Group on Situations in a confidential manner and then takes a decision concerning each situation brought to its attention. 2.3.2. The contribution of NHRIs to the complaints procedure NHRIs can raise awareness at the national level about the complaints procedure, how it works, possible outcomes and the fact that it is a confidential process. NHRIs can also submit information when they have evidence of consistent patterns of human rights violations, such as torture and ill-treatment. 3. Regional complaints mechanisms Three regional systems for the protection of human rights – the European, African and Inter-American systems – have adopted a two-body mechanism for the examination of individual complaints, consisting of a Commission and a Court. The Commissions are quasi-judicial bodies, with the power to issue decisions and recommendations. The Courts have the power to issue legally enforceable judgments. Reforms to the European system in 1999 mean that complaints in this jurisdiction are now made directly to the European Court of Human Rights. The ASEAN and Arab systems do not foresee any complaints nor an enforcement mechanism. In 2014, the Arab League approved the Statute of the Arab Court of Human Rights, but it has not entered into force yet. 3.1. Overview of regional complaint mechanisms 3.1.1. The European system Individual complaints are submitted directly to the European Court of Human Rights. For the Court to consider a complaint: • it must be covered by the European Convention • domestic remedies must be exhausted (or unreasonably prolonged) • it must be submitted within six months of a decision by domestic authorities • it must not have been considered by another international complaints procedure. 3.1.2. The African system The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights was set up to monitor compliance with the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. It can also examine individual or collective complaints. For the Commission to consider a complaint: • it must not be anonymous • it must be covered by the African Charter • it must not be based exclusively on reports in the mass media • domestic remedies must be exhausted • it must be submitted within a reasonable period of time once domestic remedies have been exhausted. 101