Existing legal standards and practices regarding violence against women in three regional human rights systems and activities being undertaken by civil society regarding the normative gap in international human rights law 2015, para. 54
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Institutional mechanisms include both a commission and a court. The mandate of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights includes receiving and investigating individual petitions relating to violations of human rights; observing the general situation of human rights in member States; conducting in loco visits to countries to conduct an in-depth analysis of the general situation and/or to investigate a specific situation; developing an awareness of human rights among the peoples of the Americas, including through the publication of reports on relevant thematic issues; organizing and holding visits, lectures, seminars and meetings with State and non-State actors; making recommendations to member States; requesting member States, in serious and urgent cases, to adopt precautionary measures, in order to prevent irreparable harm; presenting cases to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights; requesting advisory opinions of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights; and examining inter-State communications. The use of the precautionary measures mechanism has led to the Commission requesting a State party to adopt measures to protect the life and integrity of women's rights defenders in Colombia working with issues pertaining to the armed conflict; to protect the life, integrity and health of women living in displacement camps in Haiti; to ensure the safety of women's rights defenders in Mexico; and to protect victims of sexual abuse, among other urgent situations.
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Non-negotiated soft law
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Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences