A/HRC/RES/21/15 and human rights, and encouraging greater efforts to ensure that a gender perspective and a victim-centred approach are fully integrated into all of these activities, Welcoming also the increased integration of a human rights perspective, including through activities of the Office of the High Commissioner in cooperation with other relevant actors of the United Nations system, in the United Nations activities related to transitional justice, as well as the importance given to the rule of law and transitional justice by the High Commissioner and her Office, including its Rule of Law and Democracy Unit, Stressing that the full range of civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights should be taken into account in any transitional justice context in order to promote, inter alia, the rule of law and accountability, 1. Emphasizes the importance of a comprehensive approach to transitional justice incorporating the full range of judicial and non-judicial measures, including, among others, individual prosecutions, reparations, truth-seeking, institutional reform, vetting of public employees and officials, or an appropriately conceived combination thereof, in order to, inter alia, ensure accountability, serve justice, provide remedies to victims, promote healing and reconciliation, establish independent oversight of the security system and restore confidence in the institutions of the State and promote the rule of law in accordance with international human rights law; 2. Underlines that, when designing a transitional justice strategy, the specific context of each situation has to be taken into account with a view to preventing the recurrence of crises and future violations of human rights, and to ensure social cohesion, institution-building, ownership and inclusiveness at the national and local levels; 3. Also underlines that truth-seeking processes, such as truth and reconciliation commissions, that investigate patterns of past human rights violations and their causes and consequences are important tools that can complement judicial processes and that, when established, such mechanisms have to be designed within a specific societal context and to be founded on broad national consultations with the inclusion of victims and civil society, including non-governmental organizations; 4. Stresses the need within a sustainable transitional justice strategy to develop national prosecutorial capacities that are based on a clear commitment to combat impunity, to take into account the victim’s perspective and to ensure compliance with human rights obligations concerning fair trials; 5. Reaffirms the responsibility of States to comply with their relevant obligations to prosecute those responsible for gross violations of human rights and serious violations of international humanitarian law constituting crimes under international law, with a view to end impunity; 6. Calls upon States, in particular, to comply with their obligations under applicable international law when prosecuting persons for gender-based and sexual violence, to ensure that all victims of such violence have equal access to justice, and stresses the importance of ending impunity for such acts as part of a comprehensive approach to seeking truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence; 7. Notes with interest the position of the Secretary-General that peace agreements endorsed by the United Nations can never permit amnesties for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and gross violations of human rights; 8. Reaffirms that remedies for gross violations of international human rights law and serious violations of international humanitarian law include, as provided for under international law, the victim’s right to: (a) Equal and effective access to justice; 3

Select target paragraph3

Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents