Promoting and Protecting the Human Rights of Women and Girls A Manual for National Human Rights Institutions Similarly, the launch of the inquiry report can be supplemented by events that actively involve women and girls, such as workshops, conferences, online discussions and social media forums. The inquiry launch and these supplementary events should be geared towards securing support for the inquiry’s findings and implementation of its recommendations. For that reason, it is essential that those who have a role to play in implementing the recommendations are involved as much as possible. Follow up: Once the report has been released, the NHRI should focus on building support for the inquiry’s recommendations among organizations and individuals responsible for their implementation, as well as those who are in a position to encourage and support positive change among the relevant organizations and individuals. Experience has demonstrated the importance of developing a detailed follow-up strategy that sets out how this will happen and how the NHRI will monitor the implementation of recommendations and any other related changes. Further, the NHRI should consider publicizing information about the implementation of recommendations, either through its normal reporting procedures or through special follow-up reports. An evaluation should also be conducted to look at the effectiveness of the inquiry process. The evaluation should consider a range of questions, including whether the inquiry’s objectives were appropriate and whether they were met; whether women and girls were properly engaged and involved in the inquiry process; and what could be done better in the future. KEY POINTS: CHAPTER 6 • A public or national inquiry is an open, comprehensive and focused process that examines a systemic human rights problem in detail. • For those NHRIs that are empowered to conduct such inquiries, these can be an important tool for addressing the systemic issues that often lie at the heart of violations of women’s and girls’ human rights. • A number of steps need to be taken to establish any national inquiry. Some of these steps may have a gender dimension or may require particular consideration of gender if the inquiry relates to the human rights of women and girls. • When inquiries deal with the rights of women, or issues that affect women differently or disproportionately, NHRIs should ensure that their information and communication strategy is specifically targeted to reach those who are most affected. • All national inquiries should result in a set of detailed and specific recommendations. They should acknowledge past violations and aim to prevent future ones from occurring. • The inquiry report provides an opportunity to build public understanding of women’s human rights, how they are violated and how they can be protected. The report should tell a clear, evidence-based and persuasive story that generates broad community support for change and for implementing the inquiry’s recommendations. • The NHRI should develop a follow-up strategy to promote the inquiry’s findings and build broad community support for its recommendations. • An evaluation of the inquiry should be conducted to assess the effectiveness of the inquiry and to inform future work to promote the rights of women and girls. 76