An NHRI Guide on responding to COVID-19 impacts on LGBTI people lacked access to information about the COVID-19 pandemic. Several other NHRIs, for instance in Mongolia, New Zealand, and Samoa, have also learned about the impact from local LGBTI civil society organisations. 9. National inquiries NHRIs can conduct national inquiries to investigate systemic patterns of human rights violation and the identification of findings and recommendations.134 NHRIs may decide to conduct an inquiry related to COVID-19, for instance on the rollback of the right to freedom of assembly or about the vulnerabilities of a specific population group. The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) for instance, referred to an earlier inquiry it undertook on the Land Rights of Indigenous Peoples in its communication on the impact of the pandemic on indigeneous people.135 Where an NHRI has previously used its inquiry functions to investigate human rights violations against a group, it may be appropriate to revisit the impacts of the pandemic on those rights. GOOD PRACTICE EXAMPLES In March 2022, the New Zealand Human Rights Commission’s Disability Rights Commissioner launched an Inquiry into the support of disabled people during the Omicron outbreak.136 This followed the publication of a report in January 2021 from New Zealand’s Independent Monitoring Mechanism for the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on the New Zealand Government’s response to the COVID-19 emergency.137 The first phase of this Inquiry will gather information from organisations about what they understand to be the current experiences of disabled people, and their families, with a report and recommendations due to be released in April 2022. Indigenous lesbian disability advocate and lawyer, Dr Huhana Hickey, has spoken publicly in support of the Inquiry.138 There may be specific issues faced by LGBTI disabled people, including those who have less access to family support and therefore are at greater risk when there are gaps in government provided support due to the pandemic. POSSIBLE ACTIONS • Ensure that any inquiry related to COVID-19 includes the specific situation, concerns, and needs of LGBTI people. 25 134 Ibid., p. 188. 135 Suhakam, LETTER | Covid-19 and indigenous people’s resilience, August 9, 2020, Malaysiakini, https://www.malaysiakini.com/letters/538013. 136 The New Zealand Human Rights Commission, Commissioner Announces Inquiry into Support of Disabled People During Omicron, March 9, 2022, https://www.hrc.co.nz/news/commissioner-announces-inquiry-support-disabled-people-during-omicron/. 137 The New Zealand Human Rights Commission, Making Disability Rights Real in a Pandemic: The Independent Monitoring Mechanism’s report on the New Zealand Government’s response to the COVID-19 emergency, January, 2021, https://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/sites/default/files/2021-01/Making%20Disability%20Rights%20Real%20in%20 a%20Pandemic.pdf. 138 Tang Eda, Call for urgency as inquiry into support of disabled people during Omicron launched, Stuff, March 10, 2022, https://www.stuff.co.nz/pou-tiaki/128016410/call-for-urgency-as-inquiry-into-support-of-disabled-peopleduring-omicron-launched.