A/HRC/18/38 to the United Nations Development Programme, access to justice can be defined as “the ability of people to seek and obtain a remedy through formal or informal institutions of justice, and in conformity with human rights standards”.2 The Common Approach to Justice for Children, as explained by the United Nations Children’s Fund in 2008, expands on this definition: “Access to justice can be defined as the ability to obtain a just and timely remedy for violations of rights as put forth in national and international norms and standards [...] Proper access to justice requires legal empowerment of all children: all should be enabled to claim their rights, through legal and other services such as child rights education or advice and support from knowledgeable adults.” 24. Reports and research undertaken with children who are victims of armed conflict all find that child victims want perpetrators of grave violations to be held accountable, particularly when they continue to live in the same community. For children, however, justice includes far more than punishing a perpetrator. Even more important to them is the restoration of their rights, especially their socioeconomic rights, and concrete acts of compensation and reparation to address the loss of those rights. B. Children as victims and witnesses 25. Access to justice for victims and witnesses in conflict and post-conflict situations is achieved through judicial and non-judicial justice mechanisms. International crimes are generally punishable in national courts, but in many countries where there has been armed conflict, the infrastructure of the judicial system is often either virtually non-existent or inadequate. Recognizing this, and in order to put an end to a culture of impunity, the international community has over the past 20 years set up new accountability mechanisms, such as ad hoc tribunals, hybrid courts, human rights panels and truth and reconciliation commissions. Children are increasingly playing a role in these mechanisms, as victims and, in some cases, as witnesses. 26. With the establishment of the International Criminal Court, it is likely that more children will participate as witnesses in legal proceedings against the violators of their rights. The Rome Statute establishing the Court requires that it “take appropriate measures to protect the safety, physical and psychological well-being, dignity and privacy of victims and witnesses”, and “have regard to all relevant factors, including age, gender [...] and health, and the nature of the crime, in particular, but not limited to, where the crime involves sexual or gender-based violence against children.” Victims and witnesses units in charge of short- and long-term protective measures and security arrangements, as well as medical and psychological support, have become an established practice in international and national courts. Special protection measures can be requested to assist a child giving evidence. However, it is not always in the best interest of child witnesses of serious violations of human rights or international humanitarian law to give evidence in a court. In some cases, it may result in grave psychological trauma and illness or renewal of despair, depression or even suicidal tendencies. 27. For a range of reasons, only a small proportion of children who have suffered harm in armed conflict are likely to be called as witnesses in trials heard by the International Criminal Court. For many children, non-judicial mechanisms may provide a better opportunity to have their voices heard and to have the wrongs done to them recorded. The 2 GE.11-15092 United Nations Development Programme, Programming for Justice: Access For All, A practitioner’s guide to a human rights-based approach to access to justice (Bangkok, 2005). 7