Promoting and Protecting the Rights of Migrant Workers The Role of National Human Rights Institutions It is vital that the ability of NHRIs to receive and investigate complaints is not hindered by their geographic location or hours of operation. For example, NHRIs can develop alternative systems to receive and investigate complaints without the need for a person to physically attend an office. In the Asia Pacific region, the National Human Rights Commission of India has developed an online complaints submission and registration system, which is linked to its website. NHRIs can also consider establishing a small office or deploying officers to key border towns to establish relationships with migrant workers on their arrival, to provide them with information and to collect reports about their experiences. This approach allows the NHRI to directly assist migrants who may have experienced human rights violations prior to their departure or during the journey to the destination country. The NHRI may, for example, be able to collaborate with NHRIs and other stakeholders in countries of origin and transit to investigate specific issues raised by migrants that they interview. NHRIs must also develop complaint handling procedures that respond to the specific needs and circumstances of migrant workers. For example, NHRIs should not require that a complainant have a permanent address in order to lodge a complaint. More broadly, best practice requires that: NHRIs endeavour to ensure that migrant workers and refugees be accorded due process and be treated with dignity, despite their potentially transient status. NHRIs should actively build their capacity to provide for the needs of such transient individuals.224 This could involve, for example, providing advice or complaints information to migrant workers via email, social media or through a free-call telephone number. NHRIs may also consider establishing a 24-hour focal point contact to respond to urgent concerns or threats faced by migrant workers. Other steps that NHRIs can take to provide an accessible complaint handling mechanism include ensuring that: • lodging a complaint is free of charge • there is capacity to receive both oral and written complaints • complaint forms are translated into multiple languages • interpreters are used • its complaint handling processes are not unnecessarily formal.225 4. INVESTIGATING AND RESOLVING COMPLAINTS FROM INDIVIDUALS An independent, impartial complaint handling mechanism can have a genuine and positive impact in resolving human rights violations and discrimination experienced by migrant workers and members of their families. NHRIs typically have a mandate to receive and investigate complaints of human rights violations made by an individual or another person or organization acting on their behalf. In addition, a number of NHRIs are also empowered to undertake investigations on their own motion (“suo moto”) into particular human rights issues that come to their attention. As migrant workers and members of their families can be reluctant to bring complaints to an official body, or may be unaware of its existence, NHRIs that have the authority to establish suo motu investigations should be proactive about using this function. 224 National Human Rights Institutions: Best Practice; Commonwealth Secretariat; 2001; p. 35. 225 A Handbook on the Establishment and Strengthening of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights; United Nations Centre for Human Rights; Professional Training Series No. 4; 1995; pp. 30-31. 90 | Chapter 7: Investigating allegations of human rights violations