• Check whether the candidate is comfortable with the terminology used in discussing serious human rights violations and/or sexual and gender-based violence. • Try to include both female and male interpreters. • When interacting with victims of sexual and gender-based violence, use interpreters who have received special training and have prior experience where possible.63 • Avoid former members of the military or individuals of the same ethnicity as the perpetrators when possible.64 Guidelines for interpretation (Interviewer and Interpreter): • The interpreter should be asked to relay questions exactly, word for word to the best extent possible. • If the questions are unclear or if the witness does not understand them, the interviewer should ask the interpreter to let the interviewer know, so that questions can be rephrased. • The interviewer should speak in concise sentences, which are easy to understand and translate. • The interpreter should relay questions or statements one at a time so as to make sure that the witness understands them. • The interviewer should repeat questions several times, if needed, until comprehension is achieved. • The interviewer should look at and speak directly to the witness, rather than to the interpreter.65 Unofficial investigators should avoid sharing more information with interpreters than needed as they may become or be pressured into becoming informants for the perpetrators. Unofficial investigators should also avoid interpreters becoming so familiar with certain facts or country conditions that they translate carelessly, incompletely or inaccurately. Try to rotate interpreters or use them for only two weeks at a time. 66 63 Foreign and Commonwealth Office, International Protocol on the Documentation and Investigation of Sexual Violence in Conflict, 39 (2014). 64 Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Training Manual on Human Rights Monitoring, Chapter VIII: Interviewing, 113 (1996), available at http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/training7part59en.pdf. 65 Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Training Manual on Human Rights Monitoring, Chapter VIII: Interviewing, 113 (1996). 66 Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Training Manual on Human Rights Monitoring, Chapter VIII: Interviewing, 113 (1996). 52