bridges between the State and national minorities. National human rights institutions should establish regional offices, and conduct outreach activities, including visiting areas with large concentrations of minority communities and organizing open days aimed at persons belonging to national minorities. In addition to the advisory and promotion functions they fulfil, national human rights institutions should be empowered to exercise quasi-judicial powers to protect individual rights, including the rights of national minorities, such as:21 i. The ability to receive and investigate individual complaints Human rights institutions should be able to receive complaints from individuals, but also from organizations representing minority communities, alleging breaches against public and private entities. These complaints can also be filed by third parties on behalf of the alleged victim(s), if consent has been given, and could lead to collective redress. Additionally, human rights institutions should be in a position to offer legal advice to complainants, assist them and represent them in other proceedings. The authority to investigate should include the power to compel the production of evidence and witnesses, including from public bodies, and to visit facilities normally not freely accessible to the public (such as detention centres). This power to investigate should also include the ability to protect witnesses and complainants from retaliation for being involved in a complaint. ii. The authority to initiate investigations Human rights bodies should be able to initiate cases on their own initiative (suo motu) in instances involving national minorities. This may allow them to tackle instances of systemic discrimination against national minorities and violations of minority rights in public interest litigation including by, for example, challenging decisions by public authorities that may be in formal compliance with the law but are disproportionally disadvantageous to persons belonging to national minorities. iii. The authority to issue decisions that can secure a remedy for the victim This authority should include the ability to settle cases through a decision (including recommendations regarding compensation) that can be enforced through the courts or specialized tribunals in case of non-compliance, the power to refer findings to the courts or specialized tribunals for adjudication or 21 See also Principles relating to the Status of National Institutions (The Paris Principles), adopted by UN General Assembly resolution 48/134 of 20 December 1993; and UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (2015) General recommendation on women’s access to justice, paragraph 60. The Graz Recommendations on Access to Justice and National Minorities 17