VII. WHERE TO CONSULT AND FOR HOW LONG? Sometimes, depending on the precise objective of the consultations, a localized approach may be appropriate. This might be the case, for instance, where the goal is to hear the views of a particular community or category of victims. Broad, countrywide consultations, embracing all viewpoints, also have merit, including when they seek the views of communities that may not have been directly affected by a conflict. In Uganda, it is widely considered that the decision of the parties to the 2007 Agreement on Accountability and Reconciliation to consult across the country, even in areas untouched by the violence, generated useful findings that also served to impress on people that the responsibility for reconciliation lay with the entire nation. The experience from many countries suggests that national consultations can usefully be preceded by a preliminary “mapping exercise” that charts the patterns of a conflict or of victimization and that thus assists in determining where consultations should take place. The specific venues need to be chosen with care. Ideally, these venues should be neutral. It will rarely be prudent, for instance, to consult civilians in army or police buildings or on the premises of any armed group. Similarly, where the authorities are implicated in past misdeeds, the use of a governmental building such as a town hall may be inappropriate. Where religious tensions arise, care needs to be taken if the buildings of any one religious community are used, particularly if members of other communities are expected to attend. Experience also suggests that holding consultations at the scenes of past crimes may trigger emotional responses that are harmful to the victims and not conducive to the purpose of the consultations. Such locations should be avoided. Whenever possible, it is prudent to choose the venues and the precise timing of events in consultation with local representatives of victims or the other stakeholders to be consulted. Decisions on the duration of a consultation will depend on its purpose and scale, as well as on such considerations as access and security. Consequently, no specific guidance can be given in abstracto. However, the relative merits of short and protracted processes should be kept in mind. Short processes, such as those that last no more than a few weeks, help maintain a tight focus and avoid fatigue or loss of motivation among consultation personnel. It has also been suggested that consultations should sometimes “seize the moment” of a political transformation when there may be a high level of political will and popular opinion may be favourable to addressing the past. However, hasty consultations are best avoided, since they risk being ill-considered and, to the extent that they are perceived as tokenistic, can adversely affect public perceptions of the value of transitional justice. Social scientists consider that opinion surveys are best conducted over time so that patterns of holding and developing opinions may be identified. One expert study 16