A/HRC/42/45 58. However, other States still put a heavy burden and standard of proof on victims. In the Philippines, for example, the evidentiary requirements to obtain reparation included a request for corroboration by others, through sworn statements by two co-detainees or persons with personal knowledge of the violations suffered by the victim. Since many victims had died, it was not always possible to provide corroborating evidence. Indeed, out of 75,000 claims for reparation, only approximately 11,100 were eligible for compensation.34 59. The Special Rapporteur notes the importance of planning the registration process with great flexibility so that relevant adjustments can be made over time. A typical adjustment is the need to extend the registration period to allow all victims to register, as has happened in Argentina and Chile. 35 60. Processing the information gathered though a registration process allows the content of the programme to be adjusted when new relevant information comes to light. In Nepal, for example, the registration process for the Interim Relief Programme allowed orphans and widows of the disappeared to be eligible to obtain benefits. 36 Consultation with and participation of victims 61. Domestic reparation programmes should include adequate consultation with and participation of victims in their design, implementation and monitoring processes. Consultation with and participation of victims has solid recognition under international law, particularly human rights law.37 It is not only essential for victims to be empowered, but also crucial as a mechanism to reduce the implementation gap. 38 Victim participation and/or consultation also provide legitimacy to these programmes. 62. Consultations are “a form of vigorous and respectful dialogue whereby the consulted parties are given the space to express themselves freely, in a secure environment, with a view to shaping or enhancing the design of transitional justice programmes”. 39 Victims can provide contextual meaning to reparatory practices. This is of particular importance in relation to satisfaction, symbolic reparation and collective reparation. 40 Participation permits victims to be informed and take part in decision-making processes that could affect them. 63. Despite its importance, there is a dearth of examples of consultation with and/or participation of victims in domestic reparation programmes. Furthermore, few impact studies have been carried out to assess the outcomes of such processes where they have taken place. 64. Some of the first domestic reparation initiatives to be established, such as in Argentina, did not involve sustained participation of or consultation with victims. 41 In Chile, some consultations have taken place. For example, the next of kin of detained and disappeared persons were consulted on whether they preferred to receive a pension or a lump sum.42 65. In Peru, consultation with victims on the design of domestic reparation programmes has been documented. Nineteen workshops were organized in six different departments and 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 10 Commission on Human Rights (Philippines) press statement of 18 May 2018, p. 1. Submission of Argentina, point 5; and submission of the Chilean national human rights institution, point 5. Ruben Carranza, Cristián Correa and Elena Naughton, Forms of Justice: A Guide to Designing Reparations Applications Forms and Registration Processes for Victims of Human Rights Violations, International Center for Transitional Justice (2017), p. 59. A/HRC/34/62, pp. 7–9. See also the Rule-of-Law Tools for Post-Conflict States: National Consultations on Transitional Justice (United Nations publication, Sales No. 09.XIV.2). A/69/518, para. 80. Rule-of-Law Tools for Post-Conflict States: National Consultations on Transitional Justice, p. 3. A/69/518, para. 34. Submission of the Argentine national human rights institution, point 3. Elizabeth Lira, “Reflections on rehabilitation as a form of reparation in Chile after Pinochet’s dictatorship”, International Human Rights Law Review, vol. 5 (2016), pp. 194–216.