• The purpose for which they handled it.36
An accurate log containing all of this information for each collected
piece of information will enable investigators, lawyers and judges to
determine the authenticity of the information or item and the likelihood of
someone having tampered with it. Should it prove impossible to collect this
information, the reasons for such inability should be recorded. 37
It is advised to try to limit the number of people with access to the
information under custody as this minimizes the chance of the chain of
custody being broken and information being tampered with, and thus
causing a decrease of evidentiary value of the information concerned.
Create a record that documents all authorized access and the reason for such
access, dated and signed by both the custodian and those granted access, for
each document or item. Doing so will help ensure the credibility of the
evidence, regardless of how it is ultimately used. See the Appendix to this
Handbook for template Chain of Custody forms, which can be used as a
means for keeping a log of such information, as well as Section 3.1.1 for
further suggestions.
2.1.9 Protection of Documentation
Any personal information that an individual discloses during an
interview is to be considered confidential and is to be treated accordingly. 38
This means that there is an understanding that the disclosed information will
not be shared with others unless the person concerned gives explicit and
informed consent to do so, being fully informed of all the risks that
disclosing the information may entail.39
36
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY Manual on Developed Practices, 28
(2009), available at http://www.icty.org/sid/10145.
37
International Bar Association and Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law,
The Lund-London Guidelines), 7 (2009).
38
World Health Organization, WHO Ethical and safety recommendations for researching, documenting
and monitoring sexual violence in emergencies, 9 (2007), available at
http://www.who.int/gender/documents/OMS_Ethics&Safety10Aug07.pdf; Physicians for Human Rights,
Curriculum Companion: Program on Sexual Violence in Conflict Zone, Cross-Sectorial Training,
UNPUBLISHED.
39
Global Protection Cluster, Handbook for Coordinating Gender-based Violence Interventions in
humanitarian Settings, Annex 35 (2010), available at
http://www.unicef.org/protection/files/GBV_Handbook_Long_Version.pdf; The Sphere Project,
Humanitarian Charter Minimum Standards in Humanitarian Response, 35 (2011), available at
https://www.ifrc.org/docs/idrl/I1027EN.pdf; Physicians for Human Rights, Curriculum Companion:
Program on Sexual Violence in Conflict Zone, Cross-Sectorial Training, UNPUBLISHED.
37
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