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Report of the Special Rapporteur on torture, A/HRC/19/61,18 January 2012

IV. IDENTIFYING BEST PRACTICES AND ESTABLISHING STANDARDS FOR COMMISSIONS OF INQUIRY 

C. Composition

62. Where human rights violations have had a distinct ethnic, racial, or religious dimension, it is important to include people who fully understand the plight of affected communities. Under all circumstances careful attention should be paid to the inclusion of women in the composition of the commission. Of additional value is the inclusion of individuals with a gender perspective to better understand the specific ways in which vulnerable persons, including, women, children, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons, persons with disabilities and persons belonging to a minority or indigenous group suffer from gross violations, including torture and other forms of ill-treatment and how they affect their communities. Geographic and cross-cultural balance in a commission is also of the greatest importance, as long as the standards of expertise and professionalism are not diminished for the sake of political balance.

Link to full text of the report: http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/SRTorture/A-HRC-19-61.pdf