When working with minors, unofficial investigators should in
particular:
• Have training specific to approaching, interviewing and referring
minors to enable themselves to address the specific vulnerabilities
and capabilities of the minor.
• Understand how to apply the principles of do no harm,
confidentiality and informed consent specifically to working with
minors, including the use of age-appropriate techniques when
communicating with them.
• Understand the distinct challenges that different groups of
vulnerable minors may face, such as the risk of rejection by
communities.
• Avoid interaction with traumatized minors. 56
2.2.5 Interpreters and Intermediaries
Interpreters
It may prove necessary to rely on the use of an interpreter, and in
these circumstances, the success of an information-gathering exercise
depends heavily on the interpreter’s ability to facilitate communication.
Similar to the interviewer or documenter, lack of cultural sensitivity on the
part of the interpreters may prove detrimental to any effort in building
rapport. Interpreters should therefore be chosen carefully and may require
additional training in this respect.57 Be aware that interpreters with no
experience in this area may be psychologically unprepared for what they will
be confronted with during the course of the interview. This could negatively
affect the quality of the translation or the way in which the interpreter and
witness communicate. 58 Interpreters should be appropriately trained in:
• Interpretation.
• Working with victims and witnesses of serious human rights
violations.
56
Foreign and Commonwealth Office, International Protocol on the Documentation and Investigation of
Sexual Violence in Conflict, 30 (2014).
57
Foreign and Commonwealth Office, International Protocol on the Documentation and Investigation of
Sexual Violence in Conflict, 39 (2014); Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for
Rwanda, Prosecution of Sexual Violence: Best Practices Manual for the Investigation and Prosecution of
Sexual Violence Crimes in Post-Conflict Regions: Lessons Learned from the Office of the Prosecutor for
the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, 44 (2014), available at
http://www.unictr.org/sites/unictr.org/files/publications/ICTR-Prosecution-of-Sexual-Violence.pdf.
58
Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, Prosecution of Sexual
Violence: Best Practices Manual for the Investigation and Prosecution of Sexual Violence Crimes in PostConflict Regions, 39 (2014).
49
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