A/HRC/27/21 reparations process informed many of the CAVR gender-sensitive recommendations for the proposed reparations programme.64 VII. Institutional reforms 57. Institutional reforms are necessary to prevent the repetition of gender-based and sexual violence, build sustainable peace and re-establish trust between victims and State institutions, which may have perpetrated gender-based violence. Institutional reforms also have important transformative potential. By focusing on the prevention of future violations, they can trigger discussion about the causes of gender-based and sexual violence, prevent the normalization of such violence in the post-conflict context and contribute to building a more inclusive and gender-just political order. 58. In recent years, there has been increasing awareness of the need to address genderbased and sexual violence as part of justice and security sector reform. Furthermore, the Team of Experts on the Rule of Law and Sexual Violence in Conflict, established in 2009 pursuant to Security Council resolution 1888 (2009), has provided technical advice and capacity-building assistance in, inter alia, the Central African Republic, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Somalia and South Sudan.65 In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for instance, the Team provided support to investigations and prosecutions by military magistrates and military mobile courts, and assisted the national authorities in the development of an implementation plan for the joint communiqué on the fight against sexual violence in conflict signed by the Government and the United Nations in March 2013. 59. Security-sector vetting must disqualify individuals who have perpetrated genderbased and sexual violence.66 Failure to do so puts women and children at risk of further violence from those actors, constitutes a significant barrier to seeking justice assistance from the State, erodes public faith and confidence in rule-of-law institutions, humiliates victims, and sends the message that gender-based and sexual violence is socially acceptable.67 Conversely, the disqualification of perpetrators from security roles can itself constitute a measure of satisfaction to victims.68 60. Furthermore, structural reforms to enhance institutional accountability will often be necessary. This may include developing professional standards of conduct, complaint and disciplinary procedures and oversight mechanisms. For instance, initiatives in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Kosovo have harnessed the opportunity that institutional reform presents to increase the participation of women in security and law-enforcement forces,69 recognizing the links between improved gender parity, higher rates of reporting of genderbased and sexual violence, and improvements in institutional gender-sensitivity. 64 65 66 67 68 69 Wandita and others, Learning to Engender, pp. 309–310. See the annual report of the Team, available from www.stoprapenow.org/uploads/advocacyresources/1399901202.pdf. Integrated technical guidance note on gender-responsive security sector reform. See also A/67/792– S/2013/149, para. 128 (f). See A/67/792–S/2013/149, para. 7, in which the Secretary-General notes that incidents of sexual violence have occurred where improperly vetted or trained security forces or ex-combatants have been redeployed or cantoned in proximity to civilian centres. Rule-of-Law Tools for Post-conflict States – Vetting: An Operational Framework (HR/PUB/06/5), p. 5. UN-Women, Gender-Sensitive Police Reform in Post-conflict Societies (2007), pp. 2, and 6–7. 17