“The two fundamental principles of the protection of sources of information
from possible harm and the need to respect the right to fair trial of individuals
who are alleged to have committed violations need to guide the approach of
commissions/missions on this issue.” – OHCHR Guidance and Practice, p. 14
(citing the Updated Set of Principles ...)
If the identified individual(s) took up the opportunity to respond, their perspective
on the incident would also be included, thus diminishing in part certain key human
rights concerns.148
If publicly naming individual perpetrators in the report, the investigative body must
also specify the relevant acts or omissions. Merely publishing a list of names can
cause confusion, resulting more in resentment than illumination.
Example 1: Darfur (2005)
“The decision to keep confidential the names of the persons who may be
suspected to be responsible for international crimes in Darfur is based on three
main grounds. First, it would be contrary to elementary principles of due process
or fair trial to make the names of these individuals public. In this connection,
it bears emphasizing Article 14 of the ICCPR and Article 55 (2) of the ICC
Statute, which concern the rights of persons under investigation and which may
be reasonably held to codify customary international law. These rights include
the right to be informed that there are grounds to believe that the person has
committed a crime, the right to remain silent and to have legal assistance. The
publication of the names would [deny] the possible perpetrators the fundamental
rights that any suspect must enjoy.”149
If the individual(s) were given the opportunity but chose not to respond, then some human rights concerns
would be addressed, but others would remain. An example would be the opportunity to examine
information proffered or to confront witnesses. Again, these protections attach to criminal proceedings
and are to be guaranteed by the State. United Nations-mandated investigations are not bound in the
same way, but should endeavour to respect such rights to the extent feasible.
149
S/2005/60, para. 526.
148
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