Reparations serve to acknowledge the legal obligation of a state, or individual(s) or group, to repair the consequences of violations — either because it directly committed them or it failed to prevent them. They also express to victims and society more generally that the state is committed to addressing the root causes of past violations and ensuring they do not happen again.
With their material and symbolic benefits, reparations are important to victims because they are often seen as the most direct and meaningful way of receiving justice. Yet, they are often the last-implemented and least-funded measure of transitional justice.