UNDP-OHCHR TOOLKIT treaty is signed, ratified, accepted, approved or acceded to. Reservations must not be incompatible with the object and the purpose of the treaty. Furthermore, a treaty might prohibit reservations or only allow for certain reservations to be made on its application, the NHRI can document the impact of those reservations and attempt to influence the State to remove them. Restorative justice: Restorative justice is a non-adversarial, non-retributive approach to justice that the United Nations Economic and Social Council defines as “an evolving response to crime that respects the dignity and equality of each person, builds understanding, and promotes social harmony through the healing of victims, offenders and communities” (http://www.un.org/ docs/ecosoc/documents/2002/resolutions/eres2002-12. pdf ). It offers victims an opportunity to obtain reparation and seek closure, while allowing offenders to take responsibility for their behaviour. Restorative justice promotes community well-being and deterrence. It can take various forms – from a national Truth and Reconciliation Commission to innovations in juvenile justice systems. Rule of law: One of the fundamental, overarching ideas in legal systems. The rule of law is a safeguard against arbitrary governance and requires legal decisions to be made according to known principles or laws of general and equal application. The rule of law ensures that no one is above the law and that individuals are entitled to due process of law. It is a state responsibility. It informs and structures the effectiveness and integrity of the entire justice system, including the work of NHRIs. The Siracusa Principles: The Siracusa Principles set standards of acceptable limitations and derogations from the ICCPR which supplement treaty norms. They seek to ensure that the clauses of the ICCPR are interpreted and applied in a manner consistent with the Covenant’s objects and purposes. They were adopted at an international conference held in Siracusa, Italy in 1984. States Parties: States that have ratified or acceded to a treaty. The Sub Committee on Accreditation (SCA): In accordance with the Rules of Procedure of the International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (ICC), the Sub-Committee on Accreditation of the ICC has the mandate to review and analyse accreditation applications forwarded by the ICC Chairperson and to make recommendations to ICC Bureau members on the compliance of xx applicants with the Paris Principles. The SCA is composed of one “A status” accredited NHRI for each of the four regional groupings; namely Africa, the Americas, the Asia Pacific, and Europe. Members of the SCA are appointed by the regional groupings for a renewable term of three years. OHCHR participates in the work of the SCA as a permanent observer and in its capacity as ICC secretariat. An NHRI can receive any of the following 3 statuses; (1) “A status”: compliant with the Paris Principles; (2) “B status”; observer status - not fully in compliance with the Paris Principles or insufficient information provided to make a determination; and (3) “C status”; not compliant with the Paris Principles. Systemic level: The state of relating to or affecting an entire system Torture: Article 1 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment defines torture as a human rights violation and a crime that involves the intentional infliction of severe pain or suffering for such purposes as punishment, intimidation, and obtaining information, when inflicted by or at the instigation of, or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. Torture is prohibited by the Geneva Conventions, the ICCPR, and the CAT. Transitional justice: Transitional justice refers to “a range of processes and mechanisms associated with society’s attempt to come to terms with a legacy of large-scale past abuses in order to ensure accountability, serve justice and achieve reconciliation. These may include both judicial and non-judicial mechanisms, with varying levels of international involvement, or none at all. Individual prosecutions, reparations, truth-seeking, institutional reform, or a combination of these functions, may form part of the processes” (according to the Report of the Secretary-General on the rule of law and transitional justice in conflict and post-conflict societies, S/2004/616, paragraph 8). The NHRI’s responsibility for transitional justice will depend on its enabling statute or other legislative provisions. A number of NHRIs have themselves been established as part of institutional reform in the transitional justice process. Treaty: Formal agreement between States that defines and modifies their mutual duties and obligations; used synonymously with convention and covenant. When conventions are adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, they create legally binding international