A Monitoring Guide
49
ter are carefully chosen and, specifically trained on appropriate terminology, and that they do not display discriminatory attitudes. Monitoring bodies should rely neither on interpreters working at immigration
detention centers nor on fellow detainees from the same country of
origin as the detainee being interviewed (see Chapter V).
All preventive visits to places of deprivation of liberty require that monitors triangulate the information they receive and avoid taking any information received or observations at face value. Triangulation should
be at the core of the monitoring methodology and is the only way to
ensure objectivity and impartiality in communicating with, and reporting to, authorities. Triangulation also demands that in cases where a
monitoring team splits into groups during the course of a visit, it should
reconvene periodically (and at least before the final dialogue with the
establishment’s director) to exchange and cross-check information.
When interviews with detainees constitute the primary source of information, monitoring bodies should also seek to obtain information
from other sources, such as the institution’s director, staff members
(including healthcare personnel), as well as registers and other documents. Monitoring bodies may also seek to enquire about specific
issues with other stakeholders, such as service-providers, chaplains,
lawyers, relatives, and former detainees. Seeking information from detention facility staff may be especially significant in cases where detainees fear reprisals. In such cases, a good strategy may be for monitors
to speak with additional staff members, and in particular frontline staff,
who may be candid and open up about their practices and sometimes
their prejudices (or, conversely, demonstrate their sensitivity towards
and understanding of the issue). Asking simple questions, for instance
regarding the training received on gender and diversity, their understanding of LGBTI issues, or what reception procedures are in place for
detainees who identify as LGBTI, may be a means of obtaining helpful
information without endangering detainees.
Initial discussions with an institution’s director are typically useful for
obtaining general information about the establishment’s population.
In prisons, for instance, these are often a good occasion to obtain figu-
Chapter II
6. Triangulation of information
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