A/HRC/8/4 page 27 expressed their esteem and admiration for Sergio Vieira de Mello. The terrorist’s execution made it impossible to obtain any testimony that might shed light on the attack. The gravity of this act, its enormous significance for the victims’ families, and for the credibility of the United Nations, and the flagrant violation of the right to the truth, merit the special attention of the Human Rights Council. V. CONCLUSIONS 58. As a fundamental human right, access to justice is the individual’s gateway to the various institutional channels provided by States to resolve disputes. Thus, in addition to refraining from violating that right, States are also bound by a positive obligation to remove obstacles that block or limit the individual’s access to justice. As a means of claiming the enjoyment or restoration of other rights (civil, political, economic, social and cultural), access to justice is not limited to ensuring admission to a court but applies to the entire process, which must be conducted in conformity with the principles of the rule of law (fair trial, procedural guarantees, etc.), right through to execution of the sentence. Thus the principle of equality and the conditions of accessibility and effectiveness that must characterize any mechanism established to deal with disputes must be observed not only at the start of settlement proceedings, but throughout. The absence of suitable means of access to justice ultimately deprives persons of the “right to a right” by denying them the actual means of exercising their rights in practice. 59. The report shows the enormous impact that access to justice has on people’s living conditions, in particular those in vulnerable situations, and on all human rights. This underscores the continuing relevance of the subject, the vital importance of access to justice for the work of the Human Rights Council and the urgent need to implement the recommendations presented below. VI. RECOMMENDATIONS 60. The Special Rapporteur recommends that the United Nations should develop a database of best practice in access to justice, covering all civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. It should assemble the most positive national experiences and those gathered by the special procedures and the various international institutions and specialized agencies carrying out cooperation activities in the field of justice. This reference material would be of great assistance to States, especially States in transition, and would be a very important resource for those working in the judicial system. 61. The Special Rapporteur strongly encourages the adoption of the draft optional protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. This instrument will represent a decisive step towards greater enforceability for this category of rights. The violation of these rights affects society’s most disadvantaged groups in particular, but in the medium and long term affects society as a whole. 62. Those States that have not already done so should adopt legislation that will pave the way for justice systems that are accessible, transparent, expeditious and non-discriminatory.