Report of the Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, Its Causes and Consequences (Delivered at the 14th Session of the Human Rights Council)

This report provides recommendations for reparations to women who have been subjected to violence. It addresses the fact that most humanitarian and international human rights treaties provide for the right to a remedy and discusses the conceptual challenges facing remedy provision. The report examines significant substantive and procedural trends to reverse this, both in the discussion and in the practice of reparations. The Special Rapporteur calls upon States to determine how to effectively compensate victims for harms suffered and provides suggestions for remedies. She identifies some developments in the national and international sphere with regard to reparations, including trust funds and holding States responsible for providing compensation to victims in cases where States have not met their due diligence obligations. She also provides a critical analysis of two international cases where States failed to meet this obligation, and where reparations were rewarded: Cotton Field v Mexico and Opuz v Turkey.