To: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

Brussels, 29 October 1998

Subject: Views and comments on the draft basic principles and guidelines on the right to reparation for victims of [gross] violations of human rights and international humanitarian law.

Following the request of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights dated 9 July 1998, in accordance with the Commission on Human Rights' resolution 1998/43, the Transnational Radical Party hereby submits its views and comments on the draft basic principles and guidelines on the right to reparation for victims of [gross] violations of human rights and international humanitarian law (UN Doc. E/CN.4/1998/34).

Marino Busdachin,

Representative of the Transnational Radical Party to the United Nations

Olga Cechurova,

Representative of the Transnational Radical Party to the United Nations in Geneva

***

BASIC PRINCIPLES AND GUIDELINES ON THE RIGHT TO REPARATION FOR VICTIMS OF [GROSS] VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW.

Views and comments submitted by the Transnational Radical Party, NGO in general consultative status with ECOSOC

1. The Transnational Radical Party (TRP) welcomes and supports the aims to be pursued by the revised basic principles and guidelines on the right to reparation for victims of [gross] violations of human rights and international humanitarian law and wishes to thank Mr. Theo van Boven for his dedicated and systematic efforts in preparing its draft. Undoubtedly, this issue is of the fundamental importance for the respect of human rights in general, and the TRP hopes that such principles will be adopted and practised by the international community as a general standard.

2. The TRP also welcomes the inclusion of the provision for reparation to victims in the Statute of the International Criminal Court, adopted in Rome in July this year, and considers that the exercise - by States and by international bodies - of universal jurisdiction over alleged perpetrators is a central component of a moral reparation to victims. The TRP solemnly encourages all the Member States which have not yet done so to sign and ratify the Rome Treaty, to strengthen the fundamental rights of all persons and the Rule of Law world-wide.

3. The TRP believes that the document should refer to all violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, since the act of the violation itself and not the gravity of its nature nor the extent of the damage should be the basis for the investigation and punishment of the perpetrators and the claim to a right of reparation by the victims. The deletion of the word "gross" (violations) and inclusion of the "international" (humanitarian law) is therefore desirable.

4. The TRP is of the opinion that the definition of the persons entitled to claim the reparation besides the direct victims and their families and dependants as "closely connected with the direct victims" is not clear enough and may cause serious problems as regards implementation. Further discussion and precision of this point is therefore necessary. Moreover, the elaboration of the order of precedence for reparation claims would further the understanding and implementation of the principles. It is obvious that the right to claim reparation should be given primarily to the direct victim; if the direct victim is unable to claim reparation, such right should be given to his/her descendants and subsidiarily to other members of the family, and so forth.

5. Finally, the TRP suggests that the sentence in paragraph 7 "States have the duty to adopt special measures, where necessary, to permit expeditious and fully effective reparations" be further clarified as regards the possible nature of such special measures. The provision should explicitly mention a non exclusive list of such special measures. In this regard, further discussion on more specific definitions appears to be vital for the effectiveness of the document.