Conducting a National Inquiry into Systemic Patterns of Human Rights Violation 11.11. WHO SHOULD ATTEND THE PUBLIC HEARINGS? Public hearings are open to anyone who wants to attend. The inquiry should announce when and where the public hearings are to be held and invite any interested persons to come along. The inquiry itself needs to have the information that witnesses provide but the information must also be made available to the broader community. This is a critical part of achieving the inquiry’s objectives of awareness raising about the particular issue and of human rights education more generally. Members of the public should be encouraged to attend the hearings and hear first-hand the evidence of victims, experts, government officials and others. The inquiry should do this by making the list of hearing places and dates available well in advance through the inquiry’s website, by publishing notices in newspapers in the region where a hearing is to be held at least one month before the hearing date, by writing or emailing key community groups and leaders well in advance of a hearing being held and by giving media interviews in advance of the hearing. Social media can also be useful in advising interested people of a coming public hearing. Particular efforts must be made to ensure the attendance of the media at the hearings. They will provide information and analysis about the inquiry to the broad community. Anticipating and meeting their needs and interests should be a principal component of planning the hearings. Before each hearing, the inquiry’s media officer should ensure that the media are well briefed so that they can understand and interpret accurately what is happening and what is being said and so place the evidence given at the hearing in the proper context. They should be advised who will give evidence and when, have access to the Inquiry Commissioners for interviews and be provided with opportunities to conduct direct interviews with witnesses who are willing to speak to the media. They should be permitted to obtain an official statement from the inquiry, usually through the chairperson, before and after the hearing. The inquiry’s media officer should be on hand at the hearing at all times to assist the media with information and interpretation and to arrange interviews with key personnel and key witnesses. The inquiry should also encourage NGOs to be represented at public hearings. NGO representatives can play several roles, in addition to giving evidence themselves. Their presence is a useful reminder to witnesses that there are people in the audience who will hear and respond to what they say. This encourages witnesses, especially government officials, to be frank and honest in their evidence, as they know they could be contradicted if they provide inaccurate information or withhold information. NGO representation helps to “keep them honest”. It also impresses on government officials and the media that key NGOs see the importance and seriousness of the inquiry. Their presence adds to the inquiry’s stature. It also enables them to respond on the spot to what the inquiry is told. The inquiry itself may wish to reserve comment on some issues but the media will want someone to make immediate comment. NGOs can assist the inquiry by making immediate responses, reducing the pressure on the inquiry itself to do so. And their immediate comment can further raise the profile of the inquiry in the media, contributing to building the inquiry’s momentum. Finally, government officials should be not only permitted but generally encouraged to attend and observe the hearings. The hearings are opportunities for officials to listen and learn. Often they have few of these opportunities: to hear first hand the experiences of those affected by government policies and programmes; to learn what experts say by way of analysis of present policies and programmes and proposing alternatives; and to obtain early notice of the developing views of the inquiry itself. However, these advantages need to be balanced with the recognition that the presence of government officials may intimidate some witnesses or deter them from speaking frankly. 56