A/HRC/15/33 Such reporting obligations ensure accountability and a measure of control on the activities of the agency by democratic institutions. (xiii) Role of civil society and other institutions 61. The law should acknowledge the enormous contribution that civil society can make, particularly in providing assistance to witnesses. Cooperation and coordination with civil society organizations should be explicitly provided for in the law. Such activities should be strengthened and funded. Other institutions, such as national human rights institutions, could also provide valuable assistance.57 B. Special measures for child witnesses and victims of sexual and genderbased violence 62. Child witnesses and victims of sexual and gender-based violence require especially sensitive treatment due to the particular trauma and alienation that they may have suffered.58 The law should provide for such special measures. The witness protection agency should have the authority to engage specialized personnel and establish specific procedures to deal with these vulnerable witnesses. Several United Nations documents could be useful to legislators and policy-makers in ensuring that the law reflects their needs.59 Moreover, judges should regularly make use of special in-court protection measures to protect particularly vulnerable categories of witnesses, applying less restrictive criteria than in ordinary circumstances. C. Some key operational issues (i) Funding 63. The cost associated with setting up and operating a witness protection programme may be a deterrent to countries. Budgets differ from State to State,60 depending on living costs, population size, crimes rates and other factors, and cost variations also result from several factors, including law enforcement activities, individual circumstances of the witness to be relocated, needs and safety of their family and close friends. However, cost must be weighed against benefits, which include combating impunity, strengthening rule of law and democracy, shorter investigation, more efficient prosecution, thus ensuring justice and integrity of the justice system. Even in absolute figures, witness protection is usually a small percentage of the total police or judicial budget in States where such programmes exist. 57 58 59 60 GE.10-15173 UNODC Draft Model Law states as follows: “In implementing the Program, the Protection Authority may enter into agreements with individuals, the private sector, private institutions and nongovernmental organizations to make use of their services.” For further information see Report of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to the Human Rights Council on the Right to the truth (A/HRC/12/19). OHCHR, Guidelines for Action on Children in the Criminal Justice System; Human Rights Council resolution 9/11-Right to the truth; Report submitted by the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, (A/HRC/10/16). For example, South Africa’s National Treasury allocated a fixed annual budget of 55 million rand (approx. US$7.5 million) for the period 2006–2007 to the Witness Protection Programme. Source: UNODC, Good Practices for the Protection of Witnesses in Criminal Proceedings Involving Organized Crimes, p. 52; also South Africa, National Prosecuting Authority, Witness Protection Programme Unit, Annual Report 2004–2005 (Pretoria). 17