In May 2021, following a four-year project and the contributions of almost 100 international experts, the Méndez Principles on Effective Interviewing for Investigations and Information Gathering were launched. The Principles are, in essence, an acknowledgement that the successful outcome of an interview (in any situation) is interconnected with the full enjoyment of human rights by a person at each stage of contact with state authorities – regardless of whether such encounters are labelled as ‘conversations’, ‘interrogations’, ‘interviews’, or ‘questioning’.
The Méndez Principles present an alternative to the risks of coerced statements and brutality of torture in all its forms, and a recognition that these tactics lead to false confessions, unfair trials and outcomes, and undermine the delivery of justice. They are now available in 23 languages.
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