Conducting a National Inquiry into Systemic Patterns of Human Rights Violation Chapter 8: Gather other resources • An inquiry should not be launched unless and until the NHRI either has the resources it will need or is assured that it can obtain them at the necessary times. • The inquiry needs an adequate budget, properly prepared and secured in advance, to enable it to do what is required to meet its objectives and carry out the terms of reference. • The inquiry also needs premises, equipment, services and publications to enable it to do its work. Chapter 9: Finalise an inquiry plan • Thorough planning is necessary before the public work of the inquiry begins. • Planning should address all the relevant matters relating to the conduct of the inquiry, including the methodology, the timetable, the products, and monitoring and evaluation. • The plan should be a strategic document that sets out how the inquiry will achieve its objectives. • The inquiry should have a clear timetable to guide and direct its work. Chapter 10: Obtain information: Research and evidence • Some information required by the inquiry will already exist. It should be identified and obtained. • Other information will need to be sought through research. • Information will also be provided by those with particular areas of expertise in relation to the human rights situation being investigated, orally or in written or documentary form, during the public hearings. • Part of the preparatory work in conducting the inquiry is to identify those who can provide evidence and then invite and encourage them to do so. • The inquiry should establish early in its life an information management system that enables it to categorise, catalogue, store, secure and retrieve information easily and appropriately. Chapter 11: Conduct public hearings • Public hearings distinguish national inquiries from all other methodologies used by NHRIs. They are the key to achieving the national inquiry’s objectives. • The inquiry team needs to plan the public hearings carefully to ensure that the inquiry is able to hear from all those it needs to hear from, if necessary through careful selection of witnesses at each public hearing. • The hearings need to be accessible and conducted in as many places as possible to ensure that the inquiry presents an accurate “national picture” in its report. This is particularly important in countries with both national and state or provincial governments. • The individual situation of each witness needs to be taken into account in the preparation so that the hearings proceed as smoothly as possible, respectful of the witnesses who appear. • A key part of preparing the hearings is determining how they will be arranged or structured, that is, which witnesses and issues should be considered at which particular hearings during the course of the inquiry. • Evidence given in the public hearings needs to be recorded in some form so that it can be easily accessible for use in the inquiry’s report. 82