A/HRC/21/46
are the subject of this mandate can turn into something more than a promise only provided
that social and structural transformations that go beyond those that the implementation of
the measures that the resolution refers to actually take place. Clarifying the ways in which
the implementation of the truth, justice and reparations links with development and security
concerns, and indeed the role they can play in development and security planning broadly
conceived, can only contribute to the realization of guaranteeing the non-recurrence of
violations.
52.
While it is true that the effective transformation of the conditions frequently labelled
as root causes of violence will surely require the coordination of various interventions,
including those under the present mandate, it is also true that there is further work that can
be done in order to maximize the impact and the sustainability of the measures at issue for
this special procedure. Remarkably little systematic, comparative work has been done, for
example, on the budgeting and planning dimensions of the implementation of the four
different measures, notwithstanding the fact that they are no longer new. Even less
systematic and comparative work has been done on the integration of these measures and
their follow-up mechanisms on sectoral planning processes. But to the extent that we know
that State institutions work on the basis of budgeting and planning, the desire to maximize
the impact of the measures, especially over time, will depend on increasing the competency
of those who work with the measures under this mandate on budgeting planning, and ways
of integrating them into sectoral plans. Such competencies will have both ex ante and ex
post benefits: ex ante – increased information and competency over these issues may act as
a foil to the often almost reflex reactions on the part of some Governments to argue that
they cannot afford these measures, a claim frequently belied by the absence of budgeting on
their part and by increased spending in other areas, including arms; ex post – improved
competency with budgeting and planning issues may help ameliorate the frequent lack of
follow-up in the implementation of the measures under this mandate, including the “legacy
challenges” of transitional criminal prosecutions (at the national and international levels) 27
and the lacklustre record of a number of Governments in executing the recommendations of
truth commissions.
53.
The third related area in which the Special Rapporteur considers that further work
would be beneficial in the execution of the mandate is the significant challenge of
increasing the effectiveness of the measures when implemented in post-conflict contexts
and to redress abuses and violations that frequently take place in contexts where institutions
are affected by various forms of weakness. The present report has already referred to some
of the ways in which the transfer of the measures from post-authoritarian to post-conflict
settings tests them (chap. III, sect. B, above). In a high number of post-conflict situations
witnessed in the recent past, particularly those taking place in contexts of fragility, the
number of victims can be astronomically high both in absolute terms and as a proportion of
the population. The number of armed actors and agents of violence is significantly higher
than in post-authoritarian conflicts; the challenges involved in making attributions of
responsibility are greater; the resources and capacities available for establishing reparations
programmes are lower; and institutions are less resilient and therefore more difficult to
reform, especially in the short term, to mention only some of the most obvious factors and
not counting the myriad of challenges that stem from frequent post-conflict malaise in
terms of depleted infrastructure and financial resources, distorted economic relations,
severe political mistrust and various kinds of social trauma. Serious thinking needs to be
done about how to make the measures more effective even in the face of such factors.
27
16
OHCHR Rule of Law Tool on Prosecution initiatives, pp 34–35. Available from
www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/RuleoflawProsecutionsen.pdf.
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents