VI. WHEN TO CONSULT? The circumstances prevailing in a country will determine the form and scale of the consultations, and the impact of the outcome. Consultations will be most productive if conducted in times of relative peace and security and when the relevant communities are accessible over reasonable periods of time. The greatest challenges are those confronted in times or places of ongoing armed conflict. Efforts to undertake consultations in such circumstances need to take account of the impact of the prevailing climate of fear, intimidation or reprisals. In addition, because of problems of access to the relevant communities as well as of insecurity, it will rarely be possible to undertake widespread consultations or any form of quantitative research. The consultations themselves may even exacerbate the risk to individuals and communities, for instance, by gathering people in dangerous locations or by encouraging them to express views that may draw hostile attention. Consultations are not, however, impossible in such circumstances. In Sierra Leone, in early 1999, national human rights organizations, supported by the United Nations, held consultations on the forms of transitional justice mechanisms that any future peace agreement should address. The organizations recognized that the circumstances made a major national consultation impossible but that it was, nevertheless, possible and necessary to assess the views of Sierra Leonean non-governmental organizations. These consultations led to the non-governmental groups forming a common position on the need for a truth and reconciliation commission and successfully arguing for its inclusion in the peace agreement adopted later that year (the Lomé Agreement).16 If security and other considerations limit the geographic scope of consultations, it is important to seek to address any resulting biases in findings. For instance, it is necessary to acknowledge how views obtained only in urban environments (for instance, in the capital city) may differ substantially from the unsolicited views of rural communities. The same may apply regarding the views of people consulted in territory controlled by only one party to a conflict. The consultations in Sierra Leone illustrate the utility of conducting consultations before the finalization of, and with a view to influencing, a peace agreement. In other cases, such as in Uganda, the principal elements of the transitional justice framework preceded national consultations. This order of developments significantly limits the extent to which the consultation can shape the fundamental elements of the transitional justice programme. Consultations in such a context can, however, play an important role in elaborating, refining and putting into operation whatever transitional justice proposals have already been agreed upon. 16 14 Michael O’Flaherty, “Sierra Leone's peace process: The role of the human rights community”, Human Rights Quarterly, vol. 26, No. 1 (February 2004), p. 29.