2. ETHICAL PRINCIPLES FOR CIVIL SOCIETY DOCUMENTATION This Chapter explores important ethical and investigative principles, including the principle of doing no harm, the risks of tampering or deterioration, the notions of confidentiality and informed consent, the risks of traumatization and re-traumatization, and the importance of a system of referrals to service-providers in the context of interactions with traumatized and vulnerable populations. It also discusses the importance of managing expectations and striving to maintain the traceability of a chain of custody for the information collected. Finally, it touches on the importance of the preparation and planning phase, how to conduct a risk assessment, what security arrangements to consider, and how to assess what people to interact with in contexts of widespread violence. 2.1 General Principles for Documenting Information This section addresses a number of general principles of collecting and documenting information, including the do no harm principle, the principle of informed consent, principles of confidentiality and referrals. 2.1.1 Do No Harm The most important principle when collecting information or evidence is to do no harm. This includes doing no harm to victims, witnesses, intermediaries, local communities, other unofficial investigators, colleagues, any other person involved in the collection of information on serious human rights violations, or oneself. It also includes doing no harm to any of the information encountered, whether it be physical, testimonial, or forensic, and keeping in mind the imperative to always perform a balancing act between the need to preserve information/evidence and the risks of tampering with or deteriorating that same evidence through improper actions. This is an overarching principle to all un-official investigators’ activity and must be adibed to at all times. 21