Part I Fundamental requirements for an Investigations Unit Chapter 2: Training and experience KEY QUESTIONS • What training should NHRI investigators have in conducting investigations? • What experience should they have? • What are the qualities of a good investigator? • What skills do they need? 1. INTRODUCTION NHRIs are commonly required to investigate serious violations of human rights, including deprivation of life and liberty; servitude and slavery; serious physical and psychological harm; human trafficking, systemic mistreatment of whole populations; and systemic discrimination against groups on any number of grounds. A competent and comprehensive NHRI investigation can expose rampant injustice. It may save lives. It may be the catalyst for systemic change that improves the lives of hundreds, thousands or even millions of people, however incrementally. For an investigation to be competent and comprehensive, the investigators who do it must be suitably trained and experienced. If they are not, the investigation will likely be flawed. 2. TRAINING NHRI investigators should receive regular training. Untrained investigators inevitably conduct poor investigations. Unfortunately, there are very few post-secondary courses available to equip investigators with the knowledge and skills they need in the field. While there are several courses at a few universities and similar institutions in North America and Europe, these tend to focus on criminal investigations and/ or forensics, rather than administrative investigations. While some of those techniques are relevant to human rights investigations, there is still a huge gap in formal academic training focused purely on the practical aspects of administrative investigation. There is, however, some excellent basic training available for NHRI investigators, both online and in faceto-face courses. This Manual is intended to supplement these resources by focusing specifically on the requirements of NHRIs. 3. IN-HOUSE TRAINING In addition to formal training, NHRI induction and mentoring programs – where new investigators are paired up with more experienced ones – can provide many benefits. These programs are most effective when they are structured and substantial. They must give the new investigator the opportunity to follow a case through from start to finish, so they can observe, learn and participate. The new investigator should not be burdened with a significant caseload while being mentored. Chapter 2: Training and experience | 19