A/HRC/45/45/Add.3 IV. Engagement and consultation with victims 96. During his visit, the Special Rapporteur heard numerous concerns about insufficient engagement and consultation with victims, despite some efforts of the Government to involve victims. Some aspects of the transitional justice process have featured extensive consultation with civil society and victims, including the national consultations of 2017; the drafting of the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission Act; the design of a security sector reform; and the work of the Constitutional Review Commission. Victims have not sufficiently driven the transitional justice process, however, and they have been left out of developments and decisions that directly affect them, such as the design of a national reparations policy. For a transitional justice process to be legitimate and effective, it must, above all, be victim-led. Representatives from civil society noted that in the country’s transitional justice process, victims appear to be an afterthought. This needs to be urgently remedied. V. Conclusions 97. During his visit, the Special Rapporteur was shocked by the testimonies he heard from victims and their relatives. Their narratives provided a harrowing account of the violations perpetrated in campaigns aimed at repressing dissents, terrorizing the population, instilling a climate of fear, gaining political support and simply undertaking acts of gratuitous horror and inhumanity. They mostly, however, tell the story of the unsurmountable suffering of political opponents, persons who express dissenting voices or those who are perceived as a threat to the regime: media workers; women and girls; students; lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons; persons living with HIV/AIDS; and persons accused of being witches. That suffering continues to haunt surviving victims and families, who today are affected by serious physical and mental health problems, as well as by stigma, fear and deprivation. The victims and their families are in urgent need of assistance from the State. 98. The Special Rapporteur recognizes the progress achieved thus far through the impressive work of the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission and the adoption of some institutional and legal reforms aimed at shaping a democratic and human rights-compliant State. In particular, he praises the comprehensive, cautious and victimoriented work of the Commission’s truth-seeking component, as well as the impact that it has had in giving recognition to victims and increasing social awareness about the country’s abusive past. He recalls nonetheless the shortcomings in the reconciliation and reparations components of the work of the Commission. 99. The Special Rapporteur urges the authorities to make swifter progress in the pending aspects of the transitional justice agenda, including accountability, reparations, and institutional and security sector reform. Although he understands the need to organize some of these measures in phases, it is essential that the Government give an unequivocal sign to society of its commitment to a comprehensive and holistic transitional justice process aimed at addressing past abuses, preventing their recurrence, and establishing the foundations of a strong and stable democratic society that, as mentioned in the slogan of the Commission, will never again see the abuses of the past. 100. There is a long road ahead. It requires the pursuit of a comprehensive truth about past violations, the search for the disappeared, the strengthening of the judiciary, criminal sanctions against perpetrators, full reparations for the victims, the reform of the security and other public sectors moulded over 22 years of authoritarianism, and the recognition and recollection of a common historical memory. All of these elements will be critical in recovering confidence in the State and its institutions and trust among all members of society – the sign of a truly reconciled society on its path to healing, peace and development. 18