This briefing note is addressed to delegates of the Human Rights Council. It explains what a survivor-centred approach requires at each stage of a UN human rights investigation — commissions of inquiry, fact-finding missions, and similar mechanisms — from planning and preparation through to reporting and the conclusion of a mandate, and identifies concrete actions States can take to support its effective implementation.

The decisions that states make — on resourcing, access, protection and post-investigation follow-up — shape whether an investigative body can conduct its work in a survivor-centred and effective way. The note sets out specific measures States can pursue in UN fora in Geneva and New York, in capitals, and through their embassies and consulates abroad, including providing adequate staffing and resources, funding services for survivors, facilitating access to affected populations, preventing and responding to reprisals and other protection risks, and using investigation findings to drive concrete action.

It note is available in English and French.