    Clearly stating the independence, impartiality, and neutrality of the organization and its non-affiliation to any party involved in the conflict; The mandate of the project, including what the organization can and cannot do; The extent to which information and the respondent’s identity will be kept confidential; and A reminder that participation is voluntary and that consent to participate can be withdrawn at any time. Unless the respondent indicates that they have understood the above and are prepared to participate, the interview should not proceed because the respondent has not given his informed consent. There should be an ‘informed consent form’ for respondents to sign or initial or, in cases where respondents might be reluctant to do so or where it may not be safe to maintain a record of respondents’ identities, a box on the interview form where the interviewer indicates that the respondent has been informed of the purpose of the interview and consented to participate. Scheduling interviews: As part of the interview protocol, documentation teams should estimate how long each interview will take. If the interview is expected to run over an hour, it is prudent to schedule a short break. When scheduling interviews, ensure that there is enough of a break between interviews to account for interviews running longer than expected, and for any travel or transitioning between interviews. Applying the protocol in practice by testing the introduction and interview questions on other team members will help to reinforce it. 1.3 Drafting questions Interview questions should be designed to elicit information that gives a broad picture of the context in which human rights abuses are alleged to be occurring. Questions should be constructed to:  Determine the nature and extent of the abuses, including specific details about perpetrators o Annex C elaborates on perpetrator identification in the context of the Syria conflict, including questions to assist with perpetrator identification; o Annex E describes a number of the weapons that have been used in the course of the conflict, which may assist documentation teams to draw inferences from evidence collected.  Establish possible causes, including structural causes, such as laws or cultural practices;  Understand the consequences or harm suffered;  Seek quantitative information, e.g., how many people are affected by a particular abuse, how many of a particular gender, age, etc.;  Understand what kind of redress respondents who are victims of human rights abuses are seeking. When structuring interview questions, consider starting (after the introduction outlined in 1.2) by asking an open-ended question and allowing the respondent to tell you his or her account of what they’ve experienced in their own way and in their own time. 22 When interviewing refugees or internally displaced persons, the 13