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Begin New Search Topic Transitional Justice Author Roger Duthie

1. Transitional Justice and Prevention: Summary Findings from Five Country Case Studies

Author:
Roger Duthie
Publication Date:
06-2021
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ)
Abstract:
This report summarizes the findings of an ICTJ research project exploring the role that transitional justice can play in preventing both massive and serious violations of human rights as well as violence and violent conflict more broadly. Its conclusions are drawn from case studies of five countries—Colombia, Morocco, Peru, the Philippines, and Sierra Leone—representing a range of complex contexts in which societies are grappling with violent conflicts, repressive governments, or acute inequality. It argues that transitional justice should be an integral element of conflict prevention, peacebuilding, and sustainable development. The report contends that transitional justice can contribute to prevention by: (1) addressing the exclusion and other harms that victims experience due to human rights violations they suffered; (2) addressing the exclusion and related injustices that communities and social groups face as a result of targeted violations and structural marginalization; (3) strengthening the rule of law and making it more inclusive; and (4) catalyzing the reform of institutions and laws that have perpetuated violence and discrimination as a means to exclude marginalized groups. The report also identifies a number of limitations to the preventive impact of transitional justice, including: (1) tensions that can exist between justice and prevention initiatives, especially in the short term; (2) justice processes that may be seen to be insufficiently participatory or even exclusionary themselves; (3) a lack of implementation of measures and reforms that are designed or recommended; and (4) contextual factors such political dynamics, security concerns, and the absence of broader structural change. The report concludes that applying a prevention lens to transitional justice does not fundamentally change how the field is understood, but it does have broad policy implications. First, fostering inclusion should be a primary objective of both the outcomes and the design of transitional justice mechanisms. Second, assessing the preventive role of transitional justice requires a long-term approach to inclusion and reform as these involve changes to social relationships, institutions, and structures. Third, prevention requires a society to confront both the root causes and consequences of injustice, and transitional justice processes can contribute greatly in this regard. However, they alone are not enough.
Topic:
Reform, Transitional Justice, Criminal Justice, Memory, Institutions, Reparations, and Truth and Reconciliation
Political Geography:
Africa, Middle East, Asia, South America, North Africa, North America, Sierra Leone, Morocco, Peru, and Oceania

2. The Case for Action on Transitional Justice and Displacement

Author:
Roger Duthie and Paul Seils
Publication Date:
04-2016
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ)
Abstract:
As many European countries were beginning to emerge from the depths of the financial problems caused by the 2008 global crash, a new crisis emerged threatening to envelop the continent: the displacement of huge numbers of people fleeing humanitarian disasters in the Middle East and Africa and a slew of related political, financial, and security problems. A huge number of the people coming to Europe originate in Syria and Iraq, but significant numbers come also from Afghanistan, Eritrea, and Ukraine, among others. In most of these countries the crises that provoked the exodus are ongoing. Mass displacement causes problems that have to be dealt with when a conflict is at an end.This includes aiding the return of people back to their home countries, developing plans for reoccupying houses and land, and other measures of reintegration and reparations. Traditionally it has been thought that resolving issues related to mass displacement (especially from a transitional justice perspective) has to wait for the end of a conflict: the issue is either seen as a second-order priority or one that can only be dealt with when peace comes. This paper challenges that notion. While it reflects on what can be done after a conflict, it argues that waiting for peace misses opportunities that allow for processes to develop even while conflict continues. Technology has advanced: people can report on the events of their towns and villages instantaneously through smart phones and ever more sophisticated approaches to documenting and recording information. Experience teaches us that time can be used profitably without waiting for the end of a war to begin to address the causes and consequences of displacement. From developing accurate and credible accounts of violations and property and land holdings to creating DNA databases, concrete steps can be taken among displaced populations that have three advantages: they save time; they can inform the political discourse in which peace processes and negotiations take place, alerting participants to issues that have to be solved if durable peace is to be found; and they allow victims of displacement to play an active role in helping to shape their future.
Topic:
Migration, Reform, Refugees, Displacement, and Transitional Justice
Political Geography:
Middle East and North Africa