Where the status of a victim might be concealed, part of many recorders' investigation procedures is to look at the broader context in which their death occurred, including events that came before and after it.
Some recorders reported that where casualties were reported to be members of armed groups, but there were community protests and petitions to state authorities following the deaths, this was significant to an evaluation of whether these victims were in fact civilian. Such protests were not normally seen when members of armed groups were killed. Where an armed group claimed a victim as a member, but did not give details of their role or participation in the group, this would also be suspicious to the recorder. Knowledge of the context in the country of conflict was important to identifying ambiguities that might not be obvious to outsiders or those unaware of contextual nuance.
DEFINITION AND CATEGORISATION IN CASUALTY RECORDING, p. 25
