Chapter 14: The monitoring function of NHRIs 131 14.1. What it is 131 14.2. Monitoring human rights situations 132 14.3. Monitoring places of detention 138 14.4. Monitoring elections 144 14.5. The monitoring process 145 Chapter 15: Complaint handling 151 15.1. What it is 151 15.2. What complaints can an NHRI accept? 153 15.3. Steps in complaint handling 160 15.4. Investigation of violations on the NHRI’s own initiative 175 15.5. Complaints staff 177 15.6. Complaints data and analysis 177 Chapter 16: NHRI intervention in court proceedings 181 16.1. What it is 181 16.2. Why intervene? 183 16.3. How intervention occurs 184 Chapter 17: NHRI cooperation and engagement with other national actors 188 17.1. The responsibility of cooperation and engagement 188 17.2. Relations with the parliament 190 17.3. Relations with the Government and the civil service 192 17.4. Relations with the judiciary 194 17.5. Relations with NGOs 195 17.6. Relations with the media 197 17.7. Relations with legal professional associations 200 17.8. Relations with academics and educational institutions 201 Chapter 18: Accountability 202 18.1. The Paris Principles 202 18.2. Legal accountability 202 18.3. Moral accountability 203 Part III NHRIs’ approach to human rights challenges 205 Chapter 19: National inquiries into systemic patterns of human rights violation 206 19.1. The Paris Principles and national inquiries 206 19.2. The nature of a national inquiry 207 19.3. Why hold a national inquiry? 210 19.4. Situations that lend themselves to a national inquiry process 211 19.5. Other factors in deciding whether to conduct a national inquiry 213 19.6. The results of national inquiries 215 iii