Background and
Rationale
A national Inquiry process is a strategy adopted by National Human Rights
Institutions (NHRIs) in addressing systemic violation of human rights. It is based
not only on evidence from individual cases and accounts, but also includes
examination of laws, policies, and programs (or lack of them) which have
given rise to violations in question.1
The Commission on Human Rights, as an NHRI and as Gender Ombud under
the Magna Carta of Women (RA 9710) has previously undertaken a national
Inquiry process in 2016. The 2016 National Inquiry on Reproductive Health
found persistent barriers in the implementation of the country’s Responsible
Parenthood and Reproductive Health Law (RA 10354). These barriers included
the uneven implementation and support by local government units, absence
or lack of information, religious and cultural barriers, breakdown of service
delivery networks, insensitivity of some service providers, unsustainable human
resource development, and the many barriers encountered by women and
girls facing multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination. Women and
girls with disabilities are among those who face myriad barriers in accessing
reproductive health information, service, and commodities.
1
Asia Pacific Forum. National Human Rights Institutions and National Inquiries.