A/HRC/33/48 Party has geographical, functional or personal jurisdiction. The Committee may also accept communications from individuals whose rights under the Covenant have been violated and who live outside the territory of the State party that they allege to be responsible.37 38. Furthermore, the Human Rights Committee, in its general comment No. 31 (2004) on the nature of the general legal obligation imposed on States parties to the Covenant, asserts that every State party to the Covenant is “obligated to every other State party to comply with its undertakings under the treaty” by considering that the violation of Covenant rights by any State party requires others to call on violators to “comply with their Covenant obligations”. It would therefore be reasonable to assume that compliance with obligations under the Covenant is required in relation to the implementing of unilateral coercive measures.38 39. It is thus reasonable to assume that, in the case of unilateral coercive measures, complaints against targeting State(s) brought by corporate persons or individuals who are nationals of or resident in targeted States may be admissible. 40. Third parties may also bring complaints on behalf of individuals with their written consent.39 A formal complaint should include a comprehensive chronology of facts with supporting documentation, an explanation as to how the facts violate specific provisions of the Covenant concerned and an indication of the form of remedies sought. 41. It would be desirable that the general rule according to which the Committee shall not consider a communication unless it has ascertained that all available domestic remedies have been exhausted not be applicable to claims by victims of human rights violations resulting from unilateral coercive measures imposed by another country. It should also be noted that the complaint may be rejected if it is determined that the same matter (i.e. relating to the same author, the same facts and the same substantive rights) is being examined by another mechanism of international investigation or settlement. 40 42. Applicants should, however, bear in mind that, given the large number of communications submitted, there may be a delay of several years between the initial submission and the Committee’s final decision. When the Committee decides that the facts before it disclose a violation by the State party, it transmits its decision to the State party and invites it to provide information, within a set time frame, on the measures taken to give 37 38 39 40 Ibid. See CCPR/C/USA/CO/4, in which the Human Rights Committee recommended that that the United States of America should interpret the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in good faith, in accordance with the ordinary meaning to be given to its terms in their context, including subsequent practice, and in the light of its object and purpose and review its legal position so as to acknowledge the extraterritorial application of the Covenant under certain circumstances, as outlined inter alia, in the Committee’s general comment No. 31 (2004) on the nature of the general legal obligation imposed on States parties to the Covenant (para. 4 (a)). As regards National Security Agency surveillance that is conducted worldwide, the Committee recommended that the United States should take all necessary measures to ensure that its surveillance activities, both within and outside the United States, conformed to its obligations under the Covenant, including article 17. In particular, measures should be taken to ensure that any interference with the right to privacy complied with the principles of legality, proportionality and necessity regardless of the nationality or location of individuals whose communications were under direct surveillance. (para. 22 (a)). See the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, art. 2; and E/C.12/49/3, rule 4. See the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, art. 3 (2); and the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 5 (2) (a). 11