A/HRC/5/7
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C. Right to reparation
31. As the study on the right to the truth stated, the right to the truth may well be an
autonomous one with its own legal basis but it is nevertheless closely linked to other rights
including the right to reparation. Despite the link between them, these two rights are distinct
because the object of the right to the truth is to shed light on the facts and identify those
individually responsible.
32. The Basic Principles and Guidelines stipulate that victims should receive full and effective
reparation, as laid out in principles 19-23, in the form of restitution, compensation, rehabilitation,
satisfaction and guarantees of non-repetition, as appropriate and in proportion to the gravity of
the violation and the circumstances of each case.
33. As the Basic Principles and Guidelines put it, satisfaction includes verification of the facts
and full and public disclosure of the truth (principle 22). The Basic Principles and Guidelines
also say that victims and their representatives should be entitled to seek and obtain information
on the causes leading to their victimization and on the causes and conditions pertaining to the
gross violations of international human rights law and serious violations of international
humanitarian law, and to learn the truth in regard to these violations.
34. Under the right to reparation, the Basic Principles and Guidelines provide a useful
framework for considering the various initiatives that States have taken in this area. In their
replies to the Office of the High Commissioner, some States mention reparation programmes that
they have launched in response to the work and recommendations of the truth commissions that
they set up. These programmes have offered individual or collective reparations.
35. In the case of individual reparations, States have offered compensation and adopted
recommendations on medical and psychological rehabilitation, reintegration into society, the
settlement of legal, administrative and professional issues which, in the case of some victims,
had remained pending, and the award of pensions. Some individual reparation programmes have
also provided educational benefits for victims’ children, such as the payment of enrolment fees
and charges.
36. For collective reparations, States have adopted a wide range of measures to ensure that
violations are not repeated, in part by preserving memories and conducting institutional reforms.
The principal object of such moves is to clear away the aftermath of violations, restore
confidence in institutions and ensure respect for the rule of law and human rights.
37. States have used various means to perpetuate historical memory through culture, family
recollection, collective and social memory, and historical sites offering tangible proof of past
events. They have reformed institutions and taken steps to promote the rule of law in order to
guarantee that violations are not repeated.
38. Some States have given particular prominence to community reparation through the
adoption and execution of social, economic and cultural development programmes for towns and
regions affected by violence.
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