When: 11 – 15 April 2010

Where: Amman, Jordan

National inquiries are one of the most effective strategies available to national human rights institutions for investigating and drawing attention to pressing human rights issues.

They provide a powerful tool for investigating systemic discrimination and human rights violations, as well educating the broader community about the issues.

The APF has been working with the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (RWI) to present a series of sub-regional training workshops for APF member institutions on running effective national inquiries.

Workshops have previously been held for staff from South Asia and South-east Asia NHRIs.

The upcoming week-long training program will involve representatives from the national human rights commissions of West Asia: Afghanistan, Jordan, Palestine and Qatar.

Invitations will also be extended to the national human rights institutions / relevant agencies in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq.

The workshops provide NHRI representatives with a step-by-step understanding of the process of establishing and conducting a national inquiry, including:

• selecting the inquiry subject
• setting the terms of reference
• appointing the Inquiry team
• collecting evidence
• engaging the media
• planning follow-up activities to promote inquiry findings and advocate for recommendations.

The APF has produced a training DVD - Going Public - which draws on the experiences of national human rights commissions across the Asia Pacific and the lessons learnt from holding public inquiries into a broad spectrum of issues.