A/HRC/24/42 combatants and victims of rape and sexual violence, 106 others limiting the purpose for which documents can be accessed.107 87. Considering first the importance of the information contained in national and truth commission archives and their contribution to the realization of the right to truth and the other measures under the mandate, and second the technological advances in archiving, which allow for selected blocking of parts of documents – including names and other markers of individual identity – the Special Rapporteur encourages truth commissions to adopt in their recommendations policies that maximize access consistent with considerations of privacy and personal safety. 88. Against this background and the inconsistencies in practice, the Special Rapporteur calls for the development of international standards on this matter. 3. Art exhibits and other cultural interventions 89. Finally, the Special Rapporteur highlights art exhibits and other cultural and social activities that involve victims and civil society, as they have the potential to extend the life of truth commissions’ work. Most transitional justice work targets institutional change. It is clear, however, that the transformations that will be required to redress past and prevent future violations also call for changes in attitude. This is what these initiatives are intended to do, and when they have been tried, they have been particularly effective. Examples include Yuyanapaq, the photography exhibit organized by the Peruvian truth commission,108 the poster exhibition organized by CAVR,109 and the National Vision project organized by the truth commission of Sierra Leone.110 The Special Rapporteur encourages activities which occupy and enhance a moral space vacated in the aftermath of atrocities and that have the potential of strengthening bonds of solidarity within society – so crucial in the wake of repression or conflict. 111 V. Conclusions and recommendations A. Conclusions 90. The right to truth requires States, in the aftermath of atrocities, to establish mechanisms and procedures empowered to seek information, ascertain facts and effectively reveal the truth about what has happened, thereby contributing to the fight against impunity, the strengthening of the rule of law, and ultimately reconciliation. 91. Truth-seeking mechanisms, in particular State-sanctioned truth commissions, can be important instruments for the redress of gross and systematic human rights violations and serious violations of humanitarian law when implemented in a 106 107 108 109 110 111 TRC of Sierra Leone, Witness to Truth (fn 40), vol. 2, ch. 3, para. 534. E.g., Sierra Leone’s TRC recommended that “Parliament refrain from passing legislation authorising access by criminal justice mechanisms, either directly or indirectly, to information in the archives of the Commission that was provided on a confidential basis”, see Witness to Truth (fn 40) vol. 2, ch. 3, para. 533. See http://www.cverdad.org.pe/apublicas/p-fotografico/e_yuyanapacha.php. See http://www.cavr-timorleste.org/Posters/CAVR_poster.htm. See http://www.sierraleonetrc.org/index.php/national-vision-for-sl. For an elaboration of this topic, see Pablo de Greiff “On Making the Invisible Visible: the Role of ‘Cultural Interventions’ in Transitional Justice Processes,” in Beyond Outreach, Clara Ramez-Barat, ed. (New York, forthcoming). 25