A/HRC/25/CRP.1 72. The Commission relied on the following types of information for the purposes of corroborating information based on first-hand sources and providing the overall context to violations: (a) testimony provided in public hearings or confidential interviews by witnesses who received the information directly from a person known to them (and not as a rumour), provided that the Commission assessed the source to be credible and reliable and the information to be valid; (b) summaries of witness testimony contained in publications or in submissions by the United Nations, research institutes and human rights organizations, where the Commission assessed the source to be credible and reliable and the information to be valid; and (c) summary descriptions of patterns of conduct contained in expert testimony, public reports, submissions, books, documentaries and similar materials, where the Commission assessed the source to be credible and reliable and the information to be valid. 73. The reliability and credibility of each source was carefully assessed by the Commission. The Commission considered whether the source was trustworthy and whether the person was telling what he or she believed to be true. This assessment took into account, amongst other considerations, the following: (a) the witness’s political and personal interests, potential biases and past record of reliability (if known); (b) the witness’s apparent capacity to correctly recall events, considering his or her age, trauma, how far back the events occurred, etc.; (c) the position of the witness in relation to the subject of the information; (d) where and how the witness obtained the information; and (e) the reasons for which the witness provided the information. 74. The Commission additionally considered that any piece of information had to be assessed for its validity by considering, amongst other factors, the information’s relevance to the inquiry, its internal consistency and coherence, its logicality and its consistency with and corroboration by other information. 75. Assessments of the reliability and credibility of the source were separated from assessments of the validity of the information. The Commission did not assume that a witness, judged to be a credible and reliable source, would necessarily provide accurate and valid information. 76. Where information was assessed to meet the “reasonable grounds” standard, the Commission could reach its conclusions and draw inferences more comfortably because it had repeatedly offered to the authorities of the DPRK the opportunity to attend the public hearings, to obtain leave to ask questions to the relevant witnesses, and to address the Commission on such information. In addition, the Commission shared its findings with the DPRK and invited comments and factual corrections. The authorities of the DPRK have failed to avail themselves of such facilities by their own decisions. 77. Where the Commission refers in this report to a testimony of a witness, the testimony as assessed and described is accepted by the Commission as truthful and relevant (except to any degree expressly identified). 78. Direct reference to specific testimony in the report does not indicate that such testimony is the sole basis of judgement by the Commission in relation to the issues under analysis. Where these direct references and citations are found in the report, it is to be 17