A/HRC/39/CRP.2 knowledge of the issues brought before the Mission, where it was assessed that the source was credible and reliable; • satellite imagery from reliable sources, authenticated video and photo material as well as documents containing first-hand information from a reliable source; • publicly available admissions of relevant facts by Myanmar officials; • laws, policies and directives of Myanmar as well as internal Myanmar documents, provided that they were received from a credible and reliable source and their authenticity could be confirmed; and • statistics, surveys and other quantitative information generated by Myanmar or the United Nations, to the extent that the data was based on an apparently sound methodology and the inputs underlying the data were considered originating from a credible and reliable source. 14. The Mission relied on the following types of information to corroborate first-hand information and providing overall context to violations: • confidential interviews conducted by the Mission or its staff with witnesses who received the information directly from a person known to them (and not as a rumour), provided that the Mission assessed the source to be credible and reliable; • summaries of witness accounts contained in publications or in submissions from the United Nations, research institutes and human rights organizations, where the Mission assessed the source to be credible and reliable; • summary descriptions of patterns of conduct contained in expert interviews, public reports, submissions, academic research publications, documentaries and similar materials, where the Mission assessed the source to be credible and reliable. 15. In its assessment of second-hand sources, the Mission endeavoured to interview the researcher or author of the publication, submission or text to assess its credibility and the methodology used. 16. The reliability and credibility of each source was carefully assessed. The Mission considered whether the source was trustworthy, consistently probing the veracity of their statements. Such assessment took into account, among other considerations: • the witness’ political and personal interests, potential biases and past record of reliability, where known; • the witness’ apparent capacity to recall events correctly, considering his or her age, trauma, how far back the events occurred, and so on; • the position of the witness in relation to the subject of the information; • where and how the witness obtained the information; • the reasons for which the witness provided the information. 17. The Mission also considered the information’s relevance to the fact-finding work, its internal consistency and coherence, and its consistency with and corroboration by other information, among other factors. Assessment of the validity of the information was separate from the assessment of its reliability and credibility. The Mission did not assume that a credible and reliable source would necessarily provide accurate and valid information. 18. Where this report refers to an account of a witness, the Mission has accepted the statement as assessed and described to be truthful and relevant, unless stated otherwise. Direct references to specific witness statements in the report should not be taken as an indication that it was the sole basis of judgment in relation to the issues under analysis. These direct references and citations were included to provide an example or illustration. 2. Collection of information 19. The Mission obtained a vast quantity of primary and secondary information. It conducted 875 in-depth interviews with victims and eyewitnesses. The Mission took care to 8