A/HRC/12/18 page 4 I. INTRODUCTION 1. In its resolution 9/10, the Human Rights Council requested the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) “to submit, in consultation with other parts of the United Nations system, civil society and other stakeholders, an analytical study on human rights and transitional justice which contains an overview of activities undertaken by the United Nations human rights system, including the human rights components of peace missions, an analysis of the work accomplished, a compilation of lessons learned and best practices, an assessment of overall needs, as well as conclusions and recommendations, with a view to assisting countries in the context of transitional justice, as well as an inventory of human rights and transitional justice aspects in recent peace agreements”. The present study is submitted in accordance with that request. The inventory of human rights and transitional justice aspects in post-2000 peace agreements is contained in the addendum to this study (A/HRC/12/18/Add.1). 2. The present study provides an overview of key transitional justice activities of OHCHR field presences and human rights components of peacekeeping and political missions since 2006 (see E/CN.4/2006/93 and A/HRC/4/87). OHCHR would like to acknowledge input provided by the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations and the Department of Political Affairs, Amnesty International and the research institute swisspeace. The study also analyses current developments in the transitional justice field and presents recommendations based on lessons learned and best practices. On 27 and 28 May 2009, OHCHR organized the Expert Seminar on Developments and Future Directions of Transitional Justice, in Geneva. The discussions at the Expert Seminar are reflected in the present study. II. TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE A. Concepts 3. In his 2004 report to the Security Council on the rule of law and transitional justice in conflict and post-conflict societies, the Secretary-General defined transitional justice as “the full range of processes and mechanisms associated with a society’s attempts to come to terms with a legacy of large-scale past abuses, in order to ensure accountability, serve justice and achieve reconciliation” (S/2004/616, para. 8). Transitional justice consists of both judicial and non-judicial processes and mechanisms, such as truth-seeking, prosecution initiatives, reparations programmes, institutional reform, or an appropriate combination thereof. Furthermore, transitional justice should seek to more comprehensively address the root causes of conflicts and the related violations of all rights, including civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights.1 1 See Louise Arbour, “Economic and social justice for societies in transition”, New York University Journal of International Law and Politics, vol. 40, No. 1 (Fall 2007), pp. 26-27.