A/HRC/40/CRP.1 CTRH is to play an oversight role with respect to traditional justice mechanisms, 1502 and in that regard, it can potentially facilitate a more systematic and appropriate use of reparations through these processes. Any effective compensation and reparation programme will need to take seriously and reflect the needs and concerns of victims. Victims and Victims groups must be actively involved in the design and implementation of the reparation programmes. Once established, victims and victims’ groups should be fully informed of the reparations process, including how to apply for and receive reparations. In its interactions with the Government, the Commission has sought to share its experiences drawn from how other countries in the region have managed reparation programmes.1503 It is especially important for the implementers and stakeholders to recognise that financial awards to victims and material compensations constitute only one element as a holistic understanding of reparations, is not limited to financial payments. Reparations carry a broader meaning; they consist of material and non-material elements, including restitution, compensation, rehabilitation and guarantees of non-recurrence. They are arguably the most victim-centred remedy, having the potential to make a real difference in the lives of victims. Because men and women experience conflict differently, reparations must be gender sensitive and tailored to meet their specific needs. In South Sudan, women and girls have faced the most violence, economic and political marginalization and the denial of basic rights. Gender inequality is at the root of these circumstances which is reflected in chronic discrimination in areas such as employment, political and property rights. A weak legal system limits women’s access to legal redress. The current conflict has further exacerbated these conditions, enabling the proliferation of the most vicious forms of gender-based violence, including widespread use of sexual violence as a tactic of war. The centrality of women as victims and their special status in the design and implementation of any reparations programme should therefore be recognized and should inform any meaningful reparation process. The Commission finds it regrettable that very little effort has been made by the government to engage the people most affected by the conflict, in particular women and girls, many of whom are part of the over 4 million refugees and internally displaced. 2. Challenges and Dilemmas Having only attained independence in July 2011, preceded by more than 40 years of almost continual war, South Sudan was already a fragile, fledgling state even before the outbreak of fresh hostilities in December 2013. The adverse impacts of a conflict, characterized by massive violations, have been compounded by broken or non-existent institutions, limited resources allocated to the rule of law, diminished security, lawlessness and a population increasingly sharply divided along ethnic lines. Rebuilding such a society and achieving sustainable peace will therefore require immense political will and social investment, and the maintaining of a delicate but necessary balance between re-establishing the rule of law, addressing gross human rights violations and abuses alongside the promoting of measures for securing and consolidating long-term peace, reconciliation and healing. This will require the government to prioritise and allocate its resources more meaningfully towards social services, and measures to repair the fabric of society including the harm caused to its citizens by the conflict. As the discussion in this report on political economy 1504 notes, the government has been spending a disproportionate percentage of its revenues on the security sector. Now that an agreement has been reached to end the war, citizens will now expect a reduction in security and defence expenditure and a greater emphasis on social support services. Finally, South Sudan is also a deeply traditional society, where ethnic ties and attachment to culture remain strong, making it inevitable that traditional institutions will continue to play an important role in the processes, within and between communities, of dealing with the past. 1502 R-ARCSS, Article 5.2.2.3.9. Meeting with representatives of the Ministry of Justice, Geneva, 20 September 2018. 1504 See above “Economy” section (section IV(A)(7)) and figures 1 and 2. 1503 187