Preventing Torture An Operational Guide for National Human Rights Institutions - Updated Edition Preparing questions Sometimes you may not know in advance the topic of the interview or the person you will be interviewing; for instance, when a person arrives at the office of the NHRI and wishes to make a complaint. In most cases, however, you will know what the interview is about and can prepare some questions. Questions should be open-ended and non-leading. They should also focus on the key elements of who, what, when, where, how and why. Questions should also include gender-specific considerations to gather information on the differentiated impact on women, girls and persons with diverse gender identities. However, you should not rely too heavily on a prepared questionnaire or incident sheet. It can help to memorize the key questions. Eye contact and establishing rapport with the interviewee are more important than working through a set list of questions. You can, however, refer to this list at the end of the interview to make sure that you have asked all the important questions. In most cases you will want to interview a person privately, in order to ensure the confidentiality of the interview process. However, a victim may want to be accompanied by a person of trust and this request should be respected. 4. Conducting an interview 4.1. General considerations Conducting an interview is a sensitive task which requires the interviewer to have: • an ability to listen • patience • objectivity and impartiality • empathy and sensitivity • respect for diversity • integrity • critical distance • memory • an ability to reformulate. Confidentiality and security The issue of confidentiality should be clarified at the beginning of the interview and must be respected by the interviewer. You should clearly explain how the information will be used and/or shared (such as in an internal report, external report or communication with authorities) and whether it will be necessary to use the name and personal details of the interviewee. You will also need to obtain the informed consent of the interviewee to use and/or share the information provided and make sure this consent is recorded. During the interview, you should not mention sources of any other information (unless the source is public) and you should keep the identity of other witnesses confidential. Working with an interpreter The interview should be conducted in the language that the interviewee finds most comfortable with and with an interviewer who is fluent in that language. If this not possible, you may need to arrange for an interpreter to be present. Interpreting is a difficult job and simply having knowledge of both languages may not be sufficient. In some situations, it might be difficult to find an interpreter who is seen as impartial. The interviewer 68