B. Recommendations
The recommendations contained in a commission/mission report should be carefully worded,
taking into consideration the mandate, the human rights situation, the actors to whom they
are addressed, their relevance to effect the necessary changes to improve the human rights
situation, and other issues, such as available resources and feasibility of implementation.
(a) Addressees
Any recommendation put forward must clearly identify the addressee expected to
implement the recommendation. Commissions/missions exercise their independent
judgement in addressing recommendations to the entities that they consider can
most effectively tackle the human rights problems identified. Recommendations are
most commonly addressed to the United Nations mandating authority, the authorities
of the State concerned, non-State actors in that State, the Security Council or the
General Assembly (when not themselves the mandating authority), relevant third
States, OHCHR and the United Nations Secretariat or United Nations specialized
agencies, programmes and funds. Sometimes recommendations are also addressed
to other international and regional organizations, such as the International Criminal
Court, the African Union, the European Union or NGOs.
(b) Content
Recommendations should be action-oriented and contribute to positive changes in the
human rights situation including through accountability for crimes that may have been
committed, remedies and reparations for victims, changes in law, policies and practice.
Any gender-specific aspect of the findings and conclusions should be explicitly addressed
in the recommendations as well. A commission/mission may also address in its report
the protection, after the end of its mandate, of those who provided it with information.
(c) Consultation
While commissions/missions are not obliged to consult those to whom they address
their recommendations, it can sometimes be useful to do so. Consultation on what may
be practicable and feasible, while preserving the independence of the commission/
mission, can ultimately strengthen the recommendations.
Most recommendations can be grouped into the following categories:
(i) Cease and desist recommendations to the State or other party calling for an immediate
halt to violations – for example, the Inquiry Commission on the occupied Palestinian
territories (2000) recommended, among other things, that: “Immediate and effective
measures need to be taken to prevent the destruction of property in the occupied
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COMMISSIONS OF INQUIRY AND FACT-FINDING MISSIONS ON INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS AND HUMANITARIAN LAW
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