There are three established regional human rights systems that play a significant role in protecting human rights among their Member States - in Africa, the Americas and Europe. Newer bodies with fewer functions monitor human rights conditions in the countries of the Middle East and Southeast Asia. See more on the 'Regional Systems' pages of the International Justice Resource Centre website, including detailed information on the common features of the three established regional systems. In short, common features include:
In WorldCourts, keyword searches can be used to search African and Inter-American regional courts and committees simultaneously. Please note: WorldCourts does not include decisions of the European Court of Human Rights.
The UN Universal Human Rights Index Database provides access to country and region-specific human rights information emanating from international human rights mechanisms in the United Nations system: the Treaty Bodies, the Special Procedures and the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). The Index allows users to access and search Treaty Body, Special Procedure and UPR recommendations through several categories: State or region, right, body, affected person and, for the UPR, the State that made the recommendation, the position of the State under Review, and the session.
Amnesty International Annual Country Reports cover regions as well as individual countries:
US Department of State Human Rights Reports
1) select an annual report from the left hand menu on the Human Rights Reports page.
2) click on the Build a Report tab on the top menu.
The following articles are freely available from the Social Science Research Network (SSRN)