A/HRC/34/62 measures, on the other hand. 56 For example, victims may, at least initially, find legalistic language and procedures alien to their understanding of justice or struggle to identify relevance in examples of lessons learned from international practice, which will negatively affect their ability to participate. 72. Two main strategies have been used to mitigate the challenges of knowledge disparity between victims and other stakeholders with professional backgrounds: representation of victims by civil society experts and organizations, and capacity-building specifically designed to impart expertise and empower the victims themselves. 73. The strategy centred on building the capacity of victims themselves should be calibrated to reflect the specific circumstances faced by victims. Some modalities of SouthSouth and triangular cooperation could be helpful in eliciting relevant knowledge and experience for victims’ direct involvement. Victims from similar countries or cultural contexts with a long-standing record in defending their rights and who passed through a similar learning trajectory in their own communities could act as role models, mentors and on-the-job trainers. This can promote solidarity and the creation of networks for transnational transfer of knowledge between victim communities. In most victim communities there are also individuals who tie their professional careers to advocacy for victims’ rights. Such life choices should be encouraged and incentivized and proper accompaniment provided for prospective leaders. 74. The strategy centred on building the capacity of victims often faces inflexible timelines, offering insufficient opportunity to grow the capacity necessary for victims to be able to participate as experts. 57 The planning of participatory processes requiring expert knowledge should take this into account and, consequently, should incorporate flexible and interim arrangements that provide for the gradual phase-in of victim representatives as their technical capacity improves. However, there may be time constraints that cannot allow such extended processes. 75. Where limitations to victims’ capacity have proven to be insurmountable in the short run, civil society organizations have played a major role in bridging the gap. In some contexts, victims themselves insist that their participation is contingent on assistance with both understanding their rights and seeking redress for violations of those rights. 58 Because of the need to understand local conditions, in addition to the issue of trust, civil society organizations with strong grass-roots engagement are best suited to be intermediaries between victim communities and processes of Government-induced participation. 76. Transitional justice mechanisms need a constant flow of information from and to victim groups; sporadic encounters or updates are inadequate. Civil society organizations can contribute to providing updates and securing feedback from victim groups on policy development. 59 In sum, civil society organizations that act as victim representatives are required to have different capacities in place: capacity for technical expertise on the subject 56 57 58 59 18 David Kennedy, “The international human rights movement: part of the problem?”, Harvard Human Rights Journal, vol. 15 (2002), pp. 101-125; Séverine Autesserre, Peaceland: Conflict Resolution and the Everyday Politics of International Intervention (Cambridge University Press, 2014), pp. 68-96. See, e.g., Ghazala Mansuri and Vijayendra Rao, Localizing Development: Does Participation Work? (Washington, D.C., World Bank, 2013), p. 2. Simon Robbins and Ram Kumar Bhandari, From Victims to Actors: Mobilising Victims to Drive Transitional Justice Process (Kathmandu, National Network of Families of Disappeared and Missing Nepal, 2012), p. 41. Cristián Correa, Julie Guillerot and Lisa Magarrell, “Reparations and victim participation: a look at the truth commission experience”, in Reparations for Victims of Genocide, War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity, Carla Ferstman, Mariana Goetz and Alan Stephens, eds. (Brill, 2009), p. 8.