Undertaking Effective Investigations A Guide for National Human Rights Institutions 3. RESOURCES REQUIRED FOR INVESTIGATIONS NHRIs need a variety of resources to conduct effective investigations. People The NHRI needs a sufficient number of investigators and support staff to meet its obligations. This may include managers, legal officers, administrative officers, technicians, translators and other experts. The necessary background and experience for NHRI investigation personnel is discussed in Chapter 2. Equipment Investigators should be suitably equipped in order to maximize their productivity. Equipment may include laptop computers, digital voice recorders, badges, digital cameras, mobile phones and other communication devices. Expenses Investigators working in the field will require sufficient support and resources. Funding may be required to cover the costs of travel and accommodation, experts, translators, transcribers, office space and so on. 4. CASE ASSESSMENT AND TRIAGING NHRIs cannot investigate every single complaint that comes to their attention. They simply do not have the resources to do so. NHRIs must therefore prioritize the issues and allocate their resources accordingly. They have to decide whether or not to investigate, based on a range of factors discussed in more detail in Chapter 4. In determining whether or not to investigate a matter, investigators need to consider a number of questions, such as: • Does the NHRI have jurisdiction? • Does another agency have jurisdiction and, if so, is it more appropriate that it investigate? • How old is the complaint? Will it be possible to gather sufficient and credible evidence if a significant amount of time has passed? • Does the complainant have a personal interest? • Would it be in the public interest to investigate? • Are there significant consequences for the complainant or others? • Does the complaint raise systemic issues? • Would an investigation be a wise use of the NHRI’s resources? The NHRI has to be able to set out clear reasons for why it will, or will not, investigate a particular complaint. 5. DELAYS AND BACKLOGS Delays and backlogs impact on the credibility of the NHRI and the human rights protection system. As the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the United Nations Development Programme note: Backlogs in complaints handling are not uncommon, and where they grow large, can undermine the institution’s ability to devote resources to other programme areas or to deal with systemic issues. Ultimately, large backlogs and delays can lead to a total loss of credibility for the institution since investigation timelines will become unreasonable.22 22 24 Toolkit for Collaborating with National Human Rights Institutions; 2010; p. 23.