A/HRC/8/13 page 17 6. Victims 52. Victims of terrorism and their families have the right to an effective remedy when their rights have been violated in relation to terrorist acts. This legal right has also been recognized at the political level. In the 2005 World Summit Outcome, for example, Member States stressed “the importance of assisting victims of terrorism and of providing them and their families with support to cope with their loss and their grief”. Similarly, the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy reflects the pledge by Member States to “promote international solidarity in support of victims and foster the involvement of civil society in a global campaign against terrorism and for its condemnation”. 53. Every State has a duty to provide reparation in case of a breach of the obligation under international law to respect and to ensure respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. This obligation includes, inter alia, the duty to afford remedies to victims. The purpose of reparation should be for relieving the suffering of and affording justice to victims by removing or redressing to the extent possible the consequences of the wrongful acts and by preventing and deterring violations. 54. According to the Declaration on Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power, set out in General Assembly resolution 40/34 of 29 November 1985, victims include “persons who, individually or collectively, have suffered harm, including physical or mental injury, emotional suffering, economic loss or substantial impairment of their fundamental rights, through acts or omissions that are in violation of criminal laws operative within Member States, including those laws proscribing criminal abuse of power”. Importantly, the Declaration notes that an individual may be considered a victim “regardless of whether the perpetrator is identified, apprehended, prosecuted or convicted and regardless of the familial relationship between the perpetrator and the victim”. 55. As a result of frequent shortcomings in domestic jurisdictions for victims of terrorist acts, guidelines should be adopted to address issues of appropriate access to remedies in criminal and civil proceedings. It is best practice for victims’ interests to be represented by legal counsel during criminal proceedings, which should be available and accessible regardless of the income or resources of victims and families. It may also be inappropriate and unfair to condition compensation on victims’ ability to obtain reparations from perpetrators or their estates. It is preferable for victims of terrorism to have the option to benefit from State-administered compensation and assistance schemes. The assistance could be financial, psychological, medical or in any other form that the victims wishes, and that such assistance should be long-term. A number of elements can be explored in addressing the rights of victims. These include urgent assistance for the material and psychiatric needs of victims, long-term assistance including medical and psychological follow-up; the definition of a status for victims; respect for privacy and family life of victims; effective access to justice for victims and the need to ensure that evidentiary privileges are not an obstacle to transparency in the conduct of investigations and access to legal remedies; the role of victims and victims’ associations in criminal justice; with regard to reparations, the need to ensure equality and non-discrimination among victims; and the right to justice and to truth.