•Developing the data necessary to implement early warning systems for rights violations;
•Compiling the knowledge necessary to develop rapid-response systems that mitigate the harm caused by violations; and
•Establishing proof of culpability so as to hold those responsible for the violations accountable.3
Mission Types
Not all types of missions seek to accomplish all three of these goals. The mandates of monitoring, reporting, and fact-finding missions are distinguished as follows:4
•Monitoring missions seek to prevent the violation of international law by gathering contextual information that may indicate that such a violation is about to occur. Monitoring missions generally involve peaceful dialogue with the alleged perpetrators and may take place under the framework of international peace operations. The overarching goal of modern monitoring missions is to protect civilians and ensure the conditions for eventual reconciliation among all parties to the conflict.
•Reporting missions serve a primarily advisory function. Armed with evidence of specific instances where international law was violated, reporting missions provide specific recommendations to the violators on methods of mitigating the resultant harm and reducing the likelihood of further violations. Such recommendations to the perpetrating actors may include the provision of social services to victims and direct discussions with the violators to change their behaviors, for example, and are supplemented by suggestions directed at the international community and the monitoring mission itself for mitigating future incidences as well.
•Fact-finding missions investigate specific violations of international law in a systematic manner for the purpose of a) establishing proof of responsibility, b) testing the validity of prior allegations, c) establishing an even deeper understanding of evidence, or d) fulfilling all three goals by way of a mixed approach.5 Whereas monitoring and reporting missions are oriented toward the prevention and mitigation of harm to civilians, fact-finding is intended to ascertain which means of ensuring accountability is most appropriate. Fact-finding missions go beyond simply gathering evidence by determining which courts (or other corrective measures) would be most capable of correcting the violations. (Whereas “monitoring and reporting” is standard terminology to describe investigations into international law violations, “fact-finding” is an emerging category to capture the distinctions from the other two.)