Investigations

Human rights is a cornerstone of effective criminal investigations. Law enforcement investigation of crimes, linked to the registration of incidents, is the first essential step to administrating justice. Investigations are the means by which those accused of crimes are brought before courts and have their guilt or innocence determined. By taking all reasonable steps, including investigations, to hold offenders accountable before the law, States are able to provide justice to victims and protect the rights of others. All police investigations must serve legitimate purposes, such as the detection of crime, recovery and preservation of evidence, identification and discovery of witnesses, discovery of cause, manner, location and time of crime, identification and apprehension of alleged perpetrators and presentation of evidence before a court so that guilt or innocence of alleged perpetrators may be decided.

During the investigation process, several persons have specific rights that must be respected, including victims, suspects, witnesses and any relevant members of the wider public. The investigation process must be conducted in a manner that is ethical and fully compliant with both national and international laws to ensure the protection of the human rights of all involved. Investigating crimes while respecting the rule of law and upholding human rights is essential to establishing legitimacy and building trust in law enforcement. Without fair, just and foreseeable investigative practices that comply with the principles of democratic policing, community confidence in law enforcement would falter, which would in turn weaken the efficacy of law enforcement. International human rights standards require law enforcement officials to refrain from mistreating, abusing, threatening, intimidating or torturing suspects, victims or other witnesses at any point during the investigation process. International best practices have repeatedly demonstrated that all aspects of crimes, including serious, complex and cross-border crimes, can be effectively investigated and prosecuted while engaging in the very highest standards of ethical policing and human rights compliance.

The OHCHR "Human Rights and Law Enforcement" Guidance and Training Package includes chapters, in the Manual and Training Guide, on Human rights and Investigations that provides further guidance on how to operationalize human rights standards in the context of criminal investigations, including how to design training sessions to build skills, knowledge and attitudes to help law enforcement establish effective rights-compliant through a human-rights.-based approach.

The Manual on Investigative Interviewing for Criminal Investigation spells out the fundamental principles, concepts, and approach to non-coercive interviewing. It outlines a suite of techniques for ethical and effective interviewing, including an overview of the knowledge and skills necessary to conduct interviews in a manner that is systematic, norm-compliant, rapport-based, and non-coercive. This manual is founded on (a) growing evidence-based research, (b) the normative legal frameworks that prohibit torture or other forms of ill-treatment, and (c) the Principles on Effective Interviewing for Investigation and Information Gathering, also known as the Méndez Principles, which establish, for the first time, the minimum international requirements for good practice in lawful interviewing by both the military and police

The OHCHR "Human Rights and Law Enforcement" Guidance and Training Package includes chapters, in the Manual and Training Guide, on Human rights and Investigations that provides further guidance on how to operationalize human rights standards in the context of criminal investigations, including how to design training sessions to build skills, knowledge and attitudes to help law enforcement establish effective human rights compliant investigations