Conducting a National Inquiry into Systemic Patterns of Human Rights Violation Chapter 15: Follow up KEY QUESTIONS • What responsibility does the NHRI have for following up the inquiry’s report and its findings and recommendations? • What are the priorities for the NHRI’s follow-up advocacy? • What role does the NHRI have in monitoring and reporting on implementation? 15.1. THE FOLLOW-UP STRATEGY The release of the inquiry’s report is a focal point, a time when the inquiry will find it easy to attract significant media coverage and public interest. However, maintaining that coverage and interest is a far more difficult task. Because an NHRI is a standing or permanent body, it has continuing responsibilities to follow up work it has done, to advocate for, monitor and report on the implementation. Follow-up needs a strategy. The inquiry’s original background or scoping paper should include some initial consideration of follow-up. For example, it should include a plan for the release of the inquiry’s report, with provision for media relations, public promotion and political advocacy. While a more detailed strategy will be required before the report is actually released, initial planning will ensure that the work of the inquiry is directed towards the completion and release of the report and then its advocacy. The follow-up strategy itself should be developed later in the inquiry’s life. It will need a number of different elements, with key dates and key sectors addressed. For example, it should include: • NHRI advocacy for the report with political leaders and government officials • public advocacy for the report by NGOs, academic experts and victims • conferences and other opportunities to speak about the report and promote its implementation • events that the NHRI itself could organise as promotional opportunities. It should involve a number of key events over a period of at least a year following the release of the report. These events should be directed towards building and maintaining commitment among relevant academic institutions and NGOs and towards placing sustained pressure on the Government and others to whom recommendations are directed. 15.2. ADVOCATING WITH THE GOVERNMENT AND PARLIAMENT The NHRI should be the main advocate for the report’s recommendations. It should take them to senior leaders of the Government and opposition parties and to Government officials. It should be active in persuading parliamentary committees and individual parliamentarians. It should ensure, first, that the report is on the political agenda and, second, that its recommendations are given serious consideration. It can do this, for example, by encouraging a parliamentary debate on the report or examination of the report by a parliamentary committee. It can arrange for questions to be asked in parliament about the Government’s response to the report. It can provide briefings to parliamentarians and parliamentary staff. These kinds of initiatives need to be part of the strategy for follow-up. 74