Preventing Torture An Operational Guide for National Human Rights Institutions In 2004, the Australian Human Rights Commission published, A last resort?, the report of its national inquiry into children in immigration detention. The inquiry was established to examine whether laws requiring the detention of asylum-seeking children and their treatment in immigration detention met Australia’s obligations under international law. The Commission visited all immigration detention facilities in Australia; organized 29 focus groups with over 200 children, parents and other former detainees; held 61 public hearings and 24 confidential sessions; and received 346 submissions. The draft report was provided to the authorities for their comments, before the final report was publicly released. Watch Go to the Preventing Torture CD-Rom to watch more on how NHRIs can use national inquiries to build awareness and promote action to prevent torture and ill-treatment of people in detention. Click on ‘Feature materials’ and then select ‘Item 19 – NHRIs: Creating change through national inquiries’. Key points: Chapter 11 • Conducting a public inquiry on torture and other forms of ill-treatment allows NHRIs to perform several functions simultaneously; however, it also presents challenges that should be considered. • Holding a public inquiry on torture involves certain steps, such as defining the inquiry’s terms of reference, research and analysis, holding public hearings, visiting places of detention, conducting private interviews with detainees and preparing a report and recommendations. Further reading National Human Rights Institutions in the Asia Pacific Region; Brian Burdekin assisted by Jason Naum; The Raoul Wallenberg Institute Human Rights Library; 2007 Going Public: Strategies for an Effective National Inquiry (DVD); Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions; 2008 110 | Chapter 11: Public inquiries