Eyes on Rights: Human Rights Fact-Finding Investigations and Public Opinion

Recent decades have witnessed a significant increase in human rights fact-finding missions conducted by intergovernmental organizations (IGOs). These missions are vital instruments in global governance, aimed at holding governments accountable for human rights violations. A key aspect of fact-finding missions is the public disclosure of investigations, which brings governmental misconduct to light. However, the impact of fact-finding missions on public opinion remains underexplored. This study examines how citizens react when their government collaborates with or refuses to collaborate with UN human rights fact-finding missions and investigates whether these missions influence citizens’ perceptions of human rights practices in their countries. Utilizing an original survey experiment involving 2,000 respondents in Turkey and the Philippines, this article provides the first systematic analysis of the impact of human rights fact-finding missions on public opinion.