In some instances, for example incidents of sexual violence or torture, it may be very difficult to obtain corroboration of the victim’s account from another independent source, especially if the victim has not received medical assistance or been able to report the incident to the authorities. In such cases, corroboration may be obtained by assessing the details of the victim’s account, evaluating if they are consistent with what is generally known about the incident (for example, the area where it occurred, the alleged perpetrators or the methods used) and establishing whether the incident reveals a pattern that is consistent with other similar incidents. Corroboration of information obtained from an initial source can take different forms: • The investigator’s observations, for example, during site visits or of material information or injuries; • First-hand account by a victim or an eyewitness; • First-hand account by a perpetrator; • Other collected and reliable materials, such as maps, photographs, satellite imagery, sourced videos, medical records or official documents; • Second-hand accounts by credible sources (experienced NGO, expert advice, doctor, etc.). Analysis forms the basis for drafting the commission’s/mission’s report and will consider the following questions: • Did the events under investigation take place? • Do the events constitute violations of international human rights law or international humanitarian law? • What provisions of international human rights law or international humanitarian law have been breached? • Have the violations reached the threshold to constitute international crimes as defined in the Statute of the International Criminal Court? • Does the information reveal the root causes of the violations? • Who can be held accountable for these violations? • What measures would be necessary to stop, prevent or remedy violations? Analysis therefore occurs at different levels. The factual analysis will aim to establish whether the incident or event under investigation occurred and what happened, according to the information gathered. The legal analysis will match the facts to specific provisions of human rights law and/or international humanitarian law to determine whether the facts established constitute violations. The legal analysis could also consider whether the facts constitute international crimes. The third aspect of analysis is to establish what entities or which individuals were responsible for the violations. 60 COMMISSIONS OF INQUIRY AND FACT-FINDING MISSIONS ON INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS AND HUMANITARIAN LAW