in their views either not being sought or being disregarded. As understanding of the rights of the child has improved, this practice is slowly changing and recent consultations have paid close attention to their viewpoints. Children should be approached only by specially trained personnel. It is essential to keep the principle of the best interest of the child at the forefront of the consultation process and to take account of the evolving capacities of the child. Every effort must be made to avoid re-traumatizing children. It should be noted that some children, such as child soldiers, were both victims and perpetrators, and it is important not to re-victimize them. Experience also suggests that children are best consulted out of the presence of their parents or other adults. Finally, consultations need to be devised in a manner whereby they do not convey to children any sense that they themselves are responsible for the problems of their country or for finding the solutions. In Uganda, in the national consultations regarding the 2007 Agreement on Accountability and Reconciliation, a special consultation event was organized for children. The United Nations Children’s Fund worked closely with the local child protection organizations to obtain the views of children in a framework and environment that took account of their needs for protection while at the same time encouraging them to speak frankly. The outcome of the consultation was reported in a manner that fully respected the confidentiality of each child. The experience in Uganda has been that the views of children on transitional justice can be remarkably precise, honest and straightforward. It has also been observed that children are very effective in catalysing each other to speak out. A further victim group that might be neglected is that of those who are outside the country, either as refugees or otherwise. It is still rare for transitional justice consultations to be undertaken in refugee camps, although this was done, for instance, with Sierra Leonean refugees in Guinea in 1999 and with Afghan refugees in the Islamic Republic of Iran and Pakistan in 2004, as well as with East Timorese refugees in West Timor and other parts of Indonesia in 2000. Still rarer are efforts to seek the views of non-refugee emigrants or exiles. Of course, such consultations may be extremely difficult or expensive to organize. Nevertheless, in situations where the diaspora may have an important contribution to make, and where it is easily accessible, efforts to enter into a dialogue with it should be considered. Consultations on the Liberian transitional justice framework included an innovative exercise, in 2006, to seek the views of the large population of Liberians resident in particular locations in the United States.19 Account also needs to be taken of the voices of those civil society groups that either represent victims or otherwise convey their concerns and demands. Victim groups can be numerous, diverse in form and opinion, geographically far-flung and under-resourced. For example, after publication of Peru’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s report a survey of victim groups 19 See http://liberiatrc.mnadvocates.org/. 21