Making Targeted Sanctions Effective - Small Arms Survey

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Ensure Solid Evidentiary Reporting Standards
THE STOCKHOLM PROCESS | 42
While the reports of the Expert Panels and Monitoring Mechanisms
are available for public consumption, their primary purpose is to
provide sanctions-related information to the Sanctions Committees
and the Security Council, and should be written with this purpose
in mind.
As the credibility of the process depends upon the veracity of investigative
findings, reports should be drafted according to the highest
possible evidentiary standards. At a minimum, particular findings
should be corroborated by two independent, verifiable sources. Investigators
should endeavor to ensure that every assertion is corroborated
by solid evidence.
In the absence of subpoena powers, experts will rely on two sorts
of information: confidential information supplied by cooperating
states and/or international officials, journalists, and private individuals;
and information in the public domain. Investigators should
take particular care in weighing the reliability of confidential information,
keeping in mind the identity and role of the source supplying
it.
When the reliability cannot be fully established, experts should
evaluate the degree of reliability according to standard criteria (see
Table 1). While a decision to report on allegations lacking full, transparent
validation is at the discretion of the panel or monitoring
team, such allegations should normally be avoided.