The following statement as delivered by Costa Rica on behalf of members of the Group of Friends of the Responsibility to Protect during the Interactive Dialogue with the UN Special Rapporteur on truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence.

Mr. President,

I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of members of the Group of Friends of the Responsibility to Protect.

Special Rapporteur, we thank you for this report, including your commitment to continue to establish victim and survivor-centred, inclusive, gender and child responsive approaches to transitional justice for serious human rights violations and abuses, including those which may amount to atrocity crimes, as well as your interest to study the impact of emerging technologies in this context.

We particularly appreciate your emphasis on the importance of using transitional justice strategies in the context of negotiations and political transitions in ongoing conflicts or authoritarian regimes – often overlooked in traditional conflict prevention frameworks. Holistic processes of accountability are important to address root causes of atrocity crimes, to provide access to an effective remedy and reparation for victims and to contribute to preventing their recurrence. This may include truth-telling, establishing an accurate historic record of events, documenting patterns of behaviour by perpetrators, verifiable casualty recording, acknowledging the testimonies of victims and survivors, and holding those responsible to account, while promoting the rule of law.

We recognize that the UN Human Rights Council – including the mandate of the Special Rapporteur – can play a particular important role in this regard. We therefore call on all UN Member States to actively and systematically use the recommendations issued by investigative mechanisms and Special Procedures, where appropriate, to maximise the impact the UN Human Rights system has in advancing accountability for atrocity crimes.

Thank you.

ANNEX: Co-sponsors – Members of the Group of Friends of the Responsibility to Protect – Geneva

Chair

1. Luxembourg
2. Costa Rica

African States

3. Botswana
4. Côte d’Ivoire
5. Ghana
6. Liberia
7. Mali
8. Morocco
9. Mozambique
10. Nigeria
11. Rwanda
12. Senegal
13. Sierra Leone
14. South Sudan
15. Tanzania

Asia-Pacific States

16. Bangladesh
17. Marshall Islands
18. Qatar
19. Republic of Korea
20. Singapore

Eastern European States

21. Bosnia and Herzegovina
22. Bulgaria
23. Croatia
24. Czech Republic
25. Hungary
26. Romania
27. Slovakia
28. Slovenia

Latin American and Caribbean States

29. Argentina
30. Chile
31. Guatemala
32. Mexico
33. Panama
34. Peru
35. Uruguay

Western European and other States

36. Australia
37. Belgium
38. Canada
39. Denmark
40. Finland
41. France
42. Germany
43. Ireland
44. Italy
45. Liechtenstein
46. Netherlands
47. New Zealand
48. Norway
49. Portugal
50. Spain
51. Sweden
52. Switzerland
53. United Kingdom
54. United States of America

Others

55. European Union