2008 | Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights: Rule-of-Law Tools for Post-Conflict States: Reparations

Given that very little experience has been accumulated so far in the management of effective reparations schemes for post-conflict situations, this OHCHR report considers what the salient characteristics of good reparations schemes would be. It looks at the strength and weaknesses of various types of schemes and reflects on the damaging consequences, for legitimacy and for political stability, of schemes that are perceived to be unfair in their distribution of benefits. It proposes five clear and useful criteria for designing and assessing effective and just reparations schemes.