Responsibilities

The primary responsibility of the Human Rights Commission is to promote understanding and observance of human rights in the Islands.

One of the most important functions of the Human Rights Commission is the investigation of alleged human rights violations. The very existence of the commission with constitutional power to investigate abuses and provide relief to victims can act as a powerful disincentive to violation behaviour and is also a clear indication of government's commitment to human rights and its genuine willingness to take its international and domestic obligations seriously. Therefore the structure and functioning of the complaints mechanism must be such that allows the commission to guarantee accessible, rapid and inexpensive resolution of a matter. The HRC categorizes any form of right- based contact (i.e. in person, via telephone, via email or written correspondence) with its offices as 'intakes'. The substance of an intake may prove to be one that requires formal handling by the commission, via conciliation and investigatory process, and becomes referred to as a 'formal' investigation.

A human rights investigation is instigated when a person files a formal complaint alleging infringement of their human rights as set out in the constitution order 2011 and the various International Conventions to which the Turks and Caicos Islands are signatory to.