A/HRC/34/62 I. Introduction 1. The present report should be read in conjunction with the report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence to the General Assembly on national consultation processes (A/71/567). In the latter report the Special Rapporteur addressed one form of participation (national consultations) and covered a wider range of stakeholders, whereas in the present report he covers a wider spectrum of forms of participation but concentrates on one specific group, namely victims. The report also contains information on the activities of the Special Rapporteur during the reporting period. 2. Like the notion of consultation, the idea of victim participation has become a mantra in the field of transitional justice. However, the rhetorical commitment to these ideas is not matched consistently by actual practice, and even less by systematic analysis of relevant experiences or by sustained efforts to establish comprehensive means of making them effective.1 II. Activities of the Special Rapporteur A. Country visits and regional consultations 3. The Special Rapporteur undertook an official visit to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from 9 to 18 November 2015 and visited Belfast again from 16 to 18 May 2016.2 He also carried out two advisory visits to Sri Lanka, from 26 January to 1 February,3 and from 6 to 10 June 2016. 4. On 9 and 10 November, the Special Rapporteur held regional consultations on transitional justice in the Asia-Pacific region in Colombo. The results of the consultations will be reflected in the study requested in paragraph 1 (f) of Human Rights Council resolution 18/7, to be submitted to the Council at its thirty-sixth session. 5. The Special Rapporteur sent a request for an official visit to Sri Lanka. Replies to his requests to visit Brazil, Cambodia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guatemala, Guinea, Indonesia, Japan, Kenya, Nepal and Rwanda remain pending. B. Communications and press releases 6. From July 2015 to November 2016, the Special Rapporteur sent 10 communications to the Governments of Bangladesh, Burundi, Guatemala, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka and Tunisia. 4 He also issued press releases concerning Argentina, Burundi, El Salvador, Guatemala, Japan, Peru, the Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka and Turkey, as well as on thematic issues. 1 2 3 4 Impunity Watch has just completed a two-year study of victim participation, soon to be available from www.impunitywatch.org. The Special Rapporteur is also grateful for the paper by M.P. Saffon and V. Tacha submitted by De Justicia, and to the United Nations Development Programme for hosting an expert meeting on this topic in preparation of the report. See A/HRC/34/62/Add.1. See www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=17029&LangID=E. See A/HRC/31/79, A/HRC/32/53, A/HRC/33/32 and Corr.1 and A/HRC/34/75. 3