The complaint mechanisms of the International Covenant on Civil and political rights and the Conventions on torture, racial discrimination, and discrimination against women allow citizens of the signatory states to bring allegations of mistreatment to the United Nations. Bayefsky (political science, York U., Canada) describes the complaint procedures available to individuals under each of the four treaties and describes the relevant international law. Annotation (c) Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)