A/HRC/27/21 apologized to the women of Sierra Leone for failing to protect them during the armed conflict and pledged to protect women’s rights. 53. Collective reparations may have particular potential for victims of gender-based and sexual violence. They can reach a wide group of beneficiaries, prevent stigma by avoiding the identification of individual victims, and recognize the harm to families and communities intended and caused by such violence. Individual victims should, however, directly benefit from collective reparations and not feel excluded or marginalized, or even further stigmatized. In crafting collective reparations, adequate consultations with victims of gender-based and sexual violence should take place and aim to address their particular needs, for instance for specialized reproductive health care or fistula repair.60 Collective reparations should complement rather than replace individual reparations. 54. While reparations and development constitute two distinct and separate rights, creating linkages with development actors and programmes could be beneficial for delivering sustainable and transformative reparations, particularly in countries affected by mass violations and poverty. International cooperation and assistance should not be a substitute for the role that States must play in reparations, including acknowledgement of responsibility for violations and using their financial and institutional capacity diligently to repair the harm suffered by victims.61 55. Regarding the different forms of benefits distributed, experience shows that women victims often prioritize service-based benefits, such as educational opportunities and access to health and psychological rehabilitation services. Care must again be taken not to blur the distinction between reparations and social rights, services and development measures to which the general population is entitled.62 In relation to economic compensation, the obstacles faced by women in accessing and controlling money, including not holding a bank account, and pressure from family should be considered. Material benefits that can help women pursue what they perceive to be autonomy-enhancing projects and that, therefore, can be more transformative should be also considered. In Timor-Leste, in order to empower victims sustainably, CAVR recommended the provision of economic rehabilitation services, such as skills training and microcredit, rather than monetary compensation. Symbolic reparations can also play a valuable role in acknowledging gender-based and sexual violence and in affirming the position of victims as citizens and rights holders, particularly in the context of social stigma. However, victims’ confidentiality must not be breached by measures of public recognition. Reparations programmes should pay more attention to guarantees of non-repetition of gender-based and sexual violence, which are likely to focus on the underlying structural causes of violence and therefore have transformative potential.63 56. The effectiveness of reparations efforts in several States, including Sierra Leone, South Africa and Timor-Leste, have been bolstered by urgent interim reparations programmes. Interim reparations can be valuable in meeting the immediate needs of victims of gender-based and sexual violence, as in Sierra Leone, where some victims received access to fistula surgery. Interim schemes may also provide important insights which can be applied to the design and implementation of the relevant State’s subsequent comprehensive reparations programme. In Timor-Leste, the difficulties in engaging women in the interim 60 61 62 63 16 OHCHR, ‘The Dust’, p. 28. Guidance note of the Secretary-General on reparations for conflict-related sexual violence (2014), p. 10. A/HRC/14/22, para. 55. Ibid., para. 62.