Conducting a National Inquiry into Systemic Patterns of Human Rights Violation Example 5: National Public Inquiry into Family Violence in Samoa conducted by the Samoa Office of the Ombudsman/National Human Rights Institution of Samoa 2018 To: 1. inquire into and identify those most vulnerable to family violence and the nature of the violence experienced; 2. inquire into and determine the causes and factors contributing to the occurrence of family violence; 3. inquire into and identify the impact of family violence; 4. inquire into and scrutinise the relevance, effectiveness and scope of existing programs and services involved in addressing the problems faced by survivors of family violence; 5. inquire into existing structures and institutions (e.g church and Fono a Alii ma Faipule) with potential to contribute to identifying to solutions and effective actions to curb family violence; and 6. report on its findings and make appropriate recommendations. Example 6: National Inquiry on the Impact of Climate Change on the Rights of the Filipino People and the Responsibility therefor, if any, of the ‘Carbon Majors’ conducted by the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines 2018 Outcomes: 1. Inform the Commission on the science behind climate change and other related phenomena, such as ocean acidification. 2. Determine if climate change has an effect on Filipinos’ fundamental human rights. 3. Assess the Philippine government’s compliance with International Treaty obligations, especially those relating to environmental protection and climate change. 4. Make policy recommendations to policy makers and administrators, as may be warranted by its findings. KEY POINTS: CHAPTER 6 • A national inquiry requires clear objectives and good terms of reference. • Objectives relate to what the NHRI aims to accomplish through the national inquiry. • Terms of reference set out what the inquiry will actually examine and report on. 32