1. INTRODUCTION National Human Rights Institutions National Human Rights Institutions (NHRI) are independent bodies established by law to promote and protect human rights in their respective countries. They are the institutions which link the international human rights system to the domestic level, interpret human rights within the national context and take action to ensure the wide enjoyment of those rights. The Samoa NHRI was established in the Office of the Ombudsman (“the Ombudsman Office”) in December 2013 under the Ombudsman Act 2013 (“the Ombudsman Act”). In 2016 the Ombudsman Office was awarded ‘A’ status by the international accrediting body, the Global Alliance for NHRIs. This accreditation at the highest level reflects international recognition of the independence of the Office and its record in effectively protecting and promoting human rights since establishment in 2013. National Inquiry The Ombudsman Act gives the Ombudsman wide-ranging duties and powers to promote and protect human rights in Samoa. One of its human rights functions is to inquire into 1 widespread, systemic or entrenched situations or practices that violate human rights. This can take the form of a ‘National Inquiry’ – one of the most powerful tools of any NHRI. A national inquiry enables a broad human rights approach and examination of a large and complex situation. It has both fact finding and educational roles and has been used to great success by NHRIs globally. Combined with the unique nature of NHRIs, the process has the potential to address and resolve wide-spread human rights issues, such as family violence, in a manner no other approach could achieve. This background paper aims to provide an overview of the inquiry approach developed by the Ombudsman Office to investigate Family Violence in Samoa. 2. OVERVIEW OF THE SITUATION Family and domestic violence is under-reported - the true scale of such human rights violations and crimes is never truly known in any country anywhere in the world. Cases go unreported for a variety of reasons – intimidation of victims, fear of reprisals, lack of effective redress, a sense that no crime has been committed. 1 Ombudsman Act 2013 s. 34 3 National Public Inquiry Background Paper| Office of the Ombudsman