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It is important to develop clear guidelines and procedures for receiving and handling complaints. When the NPM is part of a larger institution, it is recommended to develop these guidelines in coordination with the rest of the institution.
NPMs may need to consider and clarify the following aspects:
Internal organisation: Most existing National Human Rights Institutions designated as NPMs have a complaint or investigation department, which is a distinct structure from the NPM, with separate personnel and record keeping system. The NPM and the complaint or investigation department could hold regular meetings and share a common database for complaints, to ensure synergies. Specialised institutions created to perform only the NPM’s tasks may decide to designate a focal point or create a specific unit in charge of dealing with complaints.
Receipt, analysis and classification: In developing guidelines on complaints, NPMs need to be clear about the means through which they can receive them. NPMs also need to decide how to acknowledge receipt, especially in case of written complaints. NPMs may need to clarify who, within the team, is in charge of recording, classifying and, eventually, following-up on complaints. It may be useful for NPMs to determine criteria based on which they would classify the complaints and decide on the actions to take (for example, the seriousness or urgency of the complaint), particularly for NPMs that are not part of larger institutions with a mandate to handle individual complaints.
Recording and systematisation: To allow NPMs to identify patterns and use complaints in their preventive work, it is important to adequately record all complaints received. Whatever the tool chosen, it is useful for NPMs to record the following information upon receipt:

  • The type of complaint
  • Name of  the person/s concerned (if relevant)
  • The theme which the complaint is about
  • The institution which the complaint refers to
  • The action taken by the NPM in response to the complaint

NPMs could also record data on follow-up and outcome of most relevant complaints.
Confidentiality, consent and protection of data: The protection of the persons who have been in contact with the NPM, either in writing or during interviews should always be an absolute priority for NPMs (in accordance with the principle of “do no harm”).

In this regard, NPMs have a duty of confidentiality, as defined in Article 21 of the OPCAT and in the SPT’s advice, which provide that personal data should not be published without the express and informed consent of the concerned person. This obligation is the general rule for NPMs. However, in exceptional circumstances, the “do no harm” principle may require NPMs to carefully consider sharing some personal information gathered in their work with other responsible and independent bodies (such as the medical service or the Public Prosecutor’s Office), even without the consent of the concerned person.
Exceptional circumstances could include situations indicating cases of torture or other serious human rights violations, where seeking consent from the detainee would increase the risk of reprisals.  Other circumstances could include cases where a person is not in a position to give express and informed consent. In such cases, the NPM should make all efforts to gather and emphasise correlating information from other sources than the detainee, such as accounts by staff members and documents.
NPMs should also take measures to protect sensitive information in their possession, for example by storing it on a secured software and/or locked cabinet.
Protection against reprisals: NPMs should strive to take measures to prevent possible reprisals against the detained persons concerned. These measures may include, for instance, interviewing a large group of persons deprived of liberty, in order to prevent custody staff from identifying the interviewed detainees, reviewing a large number of individual files, and carry out follow-up visits to directly ensure that no reprisals are being taken against those who have communicated with the NPM.
Depending on the nature of the concern and the management of the place of detention, the NPM may also wish to consider informing directly the management while respecting the confidentiality, for instance by generally referring to indications of harassment from particular staff members towards detainees. If the NPMs considers that the situation of a person deprived of liberty is particularly worrisome, it may also decide to leave its contact information with the detainee.

NPM Category
Engaging with others
NPM Topic
Handling complaints