A/HRC/8/3 page 5 III. ISSUES OF PARTICULAR IMPORTANCE A. Role of national commissions of inquiry in impunity for extrajudicial executions 12. The duty arising under international human rights law to respect and protect life imposes an obligation upon Governments to hold an independent inquiry into deaths where an extrajudicial execution may have taken place.3 While an independent police investigation will often suffice for this purpose, the creation of an official commission of inquiry with a human rights mandate is a time-honoured and oft-repeated response, especially to incidents involving multiple killings or a high-profile killing. These commissions vary greatly as to the terminology used, and their composition, terms of reference, time frames and powers. Even elementary Internet research provides the details of a plethora of examples of royal commissions, independent commissions, judicial commissions, parliamentary commissions and the like. While such inquiries are by definition established at the initiative of the government authorities, they are most often a result of concerted demands by civil society and sometimes also by the international community. Indeed it is now almost standard practice for a commission to be demanded in the aftermath of major incidents in which the authorities which would normally be relied upon to investigate and prosecute are feared to be reluctant or unlikely to do so adequately. 13. In historical terms, the technique of creating inquiries can be traced back to many examples in the early part of the twentieth century, including in colonial and immediately post-colonial contexts. More recently, the number and range of inquiries has been expanded significantly by two relatively new phenomena. The first is the considerable increase in internationally mandated inquiries, set up by bodies like the Human Rights Council or its predecessor. The second is the proliferation of transitional justice commissions, including truth and reconciliation commissions, designed to review historical injustices and help map a balanced response. The focus in the present analysis, however, is upon nationally mandated inquiries. 14. The thrust of the analysis is that the mere setting up of a commission of inquiry and even its formal completion will often not be adequate to satisfy the obligation to undertake an independent inquiry. Empirical inquiry, based on the many examples that have come to the attention of the Special Rapporteur and his predecessors, indicates that such inquiries are frequently used primarily as a way of avoiding meaningful accountability. The international human rights community needs to scrutinize such initiatives far more carefully in the future and to develop a mechanism for monitoring and evaluating their adequacy. 1. Reasons to establish inquiries 15. Whenever an arbitrary deprivation of life occurs, States are obligated to undertake a thorough, prompt and impartial investigation, to prosecute and punish the perpetrators and to ensure that adequate compensation is provided to the relatives of victims.4 This would normally 3 4 McCann v. United Kingdom (1995) 21 EHRR 97. Commission on Human Rights resolution 2005/34; Human Rights Committee, general comment No. 31, CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.13 (2004).