A/HRC/11/3 page 4 A. Mandates of regional commissions and similar mechanisms 5. In general, regional human rights commissions and similar mechanisms are quasi-judicial in nature although they may also have certain non-judicial functions. The mandate of each mechanism must be clearly established in the original instrument creating the mechanism and may focus on awareness and prevention, or enforcement of human rights standards, or both. In several jurisdictions, the regional organization which creates the human rights mechanism has bestowed additional mandates upon it over time. For example, in the case of the Inter-American Commission, the Organization of American States (OAS) has created a number of mandates for rapporteur, to foster greater awareness of certain critical thematic issues. A special unit has been established in the Commission secretariat to work with human rights defenders. In 2008, the Council of Ministers of the Council of Europe also provided the Human Rights Commissioner with a mandate to work with human rights defenders. 6. The Inter-American Commission receives complaints from individuals and determines whether the member State in question is responsible for the alleged human rights violation. A confidential working meeting (reunion de trabajo) with the parties may be held in order to achieve a friendly settlement of the complaint. Should this not be successful, the Commission may conduct a public hearing on the merits and, if the member State is found to have been responsible for a human rights violation, will issue recommendations to the State for reparations. The Commission encourages member States to ratify both regional and international human rights treaties. 7. The Inter-American Commission is linked to the Inter-American Court in that where member States fail to comply with recommendations of the Commission, the complaint will be forwarded to the Court unless a decision is taken not to do so. An extremely important tool of the Commission is the power to order member States to take precautionary measures where the Commission believes there is an urgent and serious situation. This power also exists in the Inter-American Court, which is the only regional court specifically mandated to take such measures by the governing treaty (the American Convention on Human Rights) and where the measures are known as provisional measures. 8. In the European system, where there are a number of human rights organs, a Memorandum of Understanding establishes their respective mandates to avoid duplication of activities. The Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner focuses on prevention of human rights violations, by promoting awareness of human rights standards and their implementation by the 47 member States of the Council. As a high-level authority, the Commissioner enjoys permanent dialogue with member States at the highest levels and is able to provide advice to Governments regarding legislation and policies. The Commissioner prepares reports, including annual reports and reports for the Parliamentary Assembly. He or she may issue legal opinions to member States, to other European organs and to international bodies, such as the International Criminal Court in order to prevent human rights violations and to promote compliance with human rights standards. The Commissioner does not render determinations of fact in individual cases. In addition to “contact visits” to assess human rights implementation by member States, the Office of the Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner may also undertake special missions in