A/HRC/40/69 that most South Sudanese people remained unaware about the truth-seeking process, and many were holding back due to uncertainty about its relevance and credibility. The commission for truth, reconciliation and healing will have an important role to play in promoting victims’ access to remedies and reparations and in recommending institutional reforms. The Commission has offered to advise the Government on questions of design and legislation for the commission for truth, reconciliation and healing. Compensation and reparation authority 117. The designing of a comprehensive reparations programme, including setting up the compensation and reparation authority, has not begun. The Government cites a lack of resources. The Commission has continued to emphasize to the Government that reparations are a much broader concept, going beyond financial payments. They include symbolic reparations, which are deeply embedded in the customary and traditional justice practices of South Sudanese communities. National dialogue and reconciliation 118. The National Dialogue continues to analyse information gathered from within and outside the country in preparation for three regional conferences and a national conference to be held by mid-2019. Many South Sudanese people remain profoundly cynical about the process, which failed to reach several communities. Many who did respond were candid in expressing that the process should not substitute for accountability or jeopardize the establishment of the mechanisms under chapter V of the Revitalization Agreement. Following the revitalization process, the opposition is still considering whether it should join the National Dialogue Process. 119. Reconciliation is an essential pillar of the transitional justice framework. It requires a conducive environment for genuine interaction and engagement, which the Government must provide. Because the ongoing armed conflict has assumed ethnic dimensions, community-led efforts, facilitated by cultural and religious leaders, will need to play an important role in the pursuit of reconciliation. 120. The challenges for South Sudan are immense given such factors as the protracted conflict and its ethnic dimensions and deep divisions, the inability of the population to access the economy, the lack of financial capacity and capable organizational and human resources, and a dysfunctional and predatory elite system of government. With sustained political will and effective leadership, the transitional justice framework and the chapter-V mechanisms can help the South Sudanese people to deal with the past and secure the country’s stability and prosperity. XIV. Conclusions and recommendations A. Conclusions 121. The Commission has identified a number of individuals and groups who bear responsibility for the violations and related crimes, and the individuals concerned should face prosecution. 122. Sustainable peace in South Sudan requires meaningful progress towards accountability for past crimes. The stasis in the establishment of the hybrid court for South Sudan and the minimal steps taken at the national level to prosecute war crimes, including crimes of sexual violence, are leading to frustration and anger and are doing nothing to reduce the chances of further violence. 123. The lawless activities of the National Security Service and Military Intelligence – often linked to protecting economic interests, particularly with regard to the oil sector – risk turning South Sudan into a police state built on fear, rent-seeking and corruption. 16