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2. Women’s Experiences of Dictatorship in the Gambia
- Author:
- The International Center for Transitional Justice
- Publication Date:
- 12-2019
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ)
- Abstract:
- Since the Gambia's Truth, Reconciliation, and Reparation Commission (TRRC) began public hearings in January 2019, an important part of the country’s narrative has not yet come to light or been publicly acknowledged: the experiences of women. This report brings forward the voices of women victims and sheds light on the violations they have suffered under Jammeh’s dictatorship and their enduring impact on their lives and those of their families.
- Topic:
- Gender Issues, Women, Transitional Justice, Reconciliation, and Truth
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Gambia
3. Situating Security Sector Reforms in Kenya’s Discourse on Inclusion and National Dialogue Process
- Author:
- Christopher Gitari
- Publication Date:
- 04-2019
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ)
- Abstract:
- This paper explores political exclusion in Kenya and its consequences on the social fabric of the nation. It draws from past governmental reports and analysis to formulate new recommendations that can inform current discourse. It first provides an overview of ethnicity in Kenya. It then describes experiences of exclusion by minority groups, as well as state responses to exclusion. Finally, it looks at efforts to reform the security sector. It closes by offering some general guiding principles and recommendations.
- Topic:
- Security, Transitional Justice, Participation, and Exclusion
- Political Geography:
- Kenya and Africa
4. 'You Can Change the Course of a Country:' Report on the International Gender Symposium
- Author:
- Sibley Hawkins
- Publication Date:
- 08-2019
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ)
- Abstract:
- In February 2019, ICTJ hosted an international symposium on gender and transitional justice in Tunisia that brought together representatives from eight countries where ICTJ has been actively engaged in implementing a gender-focused approach to its programming. This briefing paper presents the lessons learned and key strategies that came out of this conference, as well as recommendations to international organizations, donors, and the media.
- Topic:
- Gender Issues, Women, Media, and Transitional Justice
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Middle East, Asia, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Syria, and Tunisia
5. Can Building Bridges Break the Cycles of Corruption and Political Violence in Kenya?
- Author:
- Agatha Ndonga and Ruben Carranza
- Publication Date:
- 11-2019
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ)
- Abstract:
- In its report, the Kenya Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission concluded that “corruption is endemic in Kenya” and that “there is a direct link between corruption and gross violation of human rights.” This paper considers the extent of impunity for corruption in Kenya, how corruption fuels and facilitates political violence and land injustices, and how Kenya can learn from other countries’ experiences to go beyond building bridges among the elite and meaningfully protect the rights of its citizens.
- Topic:
- Political Violence, Corruption, Transitional Justice, Reconciliation, and Truth
- Political Geography:
- Kenya and Africa
6. Reforming Kenya’s Security Sector: Policing Culture and Youth
- Author:
- Agatha Ndonga
- Publication Date:
- 11-2019
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ)
- Abstract:
- Between April 15 and May 3, 2019, ICTJ held a number of consultations with Kenyan youth from several informal settlements in Nairobi and Mombasa to reflect on their understanding of security sector reforms and their connection to the ongoing national dialogue process, particularly as it relates to inclusion. This briefing paper presents the key issues of concern raised by these young people and based on them offers recommendations for reforming the policing culture in Kenya.
- Topic:
- Security, National Security, Youth Culture, Culture, Reform, and Youth
- Political Geography:
- Kenya and Africa
7. “Who Hears My Voice Today?”: Tunisia’s Forgotten Women Victims
- Author:
- Doris H. Gray
- Publication Date:
- 12-2018
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ)
- Abstract:
- This report focuses on “indirect victims” of human rights violations in Tunisia, namely, the wives, sisters, and children of political prisoners in Tunisia, who suffered discrimination, social exclusion, police violence, and harassment as a result of their relatives’ incarceration during the dictatorship, as well as mothers of the martyrs. Though they may not have suffered incarceration, physical torture, or even death like their relatives, these victims were persecuted and discriminated against and experienced severe economic hardship and isolation after a family member was detained for political and/or religious activities. They were dismissed from work, expelled from school, and/or subjected to random police searches and harassment. Some women fled the country to escape a painful life of isolation and harassment, in many cases with their children, carrying nothing but the clothes on their back. Until now, there has been no substantive, systematic study of these victims, who suffered economic blacklisting, denial of due process, as well as other social and economic rights violations. The aim of this report is to shed light on this population of victims that is often overlooked or silenced in the process of transitional justice and post-uprising nation building. Accurate data on the number of people who were detained for political reasons during Tunisia’s dictatorship period (1955–2011), including women activists, has been nearly impossible to collect. What is known is that the immediate and extended family members of these prisoners, who also suffered human rights abuses, continue to live with the consequences of those violations today. Their fate raises important questions in the human rights discourse because the violations they suffered do not fit neatly within typical human rights narratives, which tend to prioritize civil and political violations and violations of physical integrity. The findings in this report are based on extensive interviews conducted with more than 250 women family members of detainees and mothers of martyrs from nine regions and Tunis in July, August, and December 2017. For many victims, the most pervasive and sustained consequences of the human rights violations they suffered have been the break-down of the family and lost confidence in the judicial and political system, coupled with the sowing of mistrust among family members and communities who feel betrayed. According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, families are the building blocks of a society; thus, the destruction of the family unit has serious consequences for individuals and society. In most cases, the forced separation of family members—wives from husbands, mothers and fathers from sons and daughters—has led to permanent estrangement or domestic strife. For example, when husbands were incarcerated, the pressure on their wives was sometimes so great that they were compelled to give their children away to be raised by members of their extended family. Further, women who had not previously worked outside the home or who lost their job as a result of being related to an “enemy of the state” had to generate an income and/or depend heavily on the financial and social support of relatives. Women relatives of political prisoners were also harassed by Tunisia’s system of pointage (which required the relatives of prisoners to report daily to different police stations) and having to travel long distances to deliver couffins (traditional baskets) containing food, clothing, blankets, and/or medicine to their incarcerated relatives, who were often relocated to far-away prisons to increase the burden on families. Many women experienced sexual harassment and violence, sometimes at the hands of police officers during their pointage-mandated check-ins, other times by neighbors or others in the community who took advantage of their heightened vulnerability in the absence of male family members. This type of harassment and violence further enhanced these victims’ sense of shame, estrangement, and self-loathing, especially considering the highly conservative religious communities most lived in. Detainees, once released from prison, were often incapable of resuming their normal family relationships with their loved ones, returning from torture chambers to their homes. An inability to engage in healthy marital relations led, in some cases, to violent interactions with their family members. Though many wives, sisters, and mothers feel a need to stand by their persecuted men, interviews revealed that some children resent their father’s political choices, which they blame for destroying their hope for a decent life. In some cases, women were even forced by their family to divorce their husband while he was in prison and marry a man from the police or security forces, in order to lift the weight of alienation and harassment from the extended family. It is essential that this array of consequences be examined in a systematic way, in order to begin to understand the full impact of the state’s willful destruction of families on indirect victims. Many Tunisians have spent a majority of their life living under repressive rule, and from interviews, it seems clear that some of the effects of such a life have not only persisted for the women but in some cases have transferred to their families. The deeply entrenched and justifiable lack of trust in state institutions expressed in interviews with victims (both direct and indirect) can only be repaired with efforts on the part of the state to highlight the human rights violations experienced, address the needs of victims and ensure non-repetition. After the 2011 revolution, Tunisia embarked on a process to address past human rights violations under the comprehensive framework established by the Organic Law on Establishing and Organizing Transitional Justice. The process has faced numerous challenges, including a difficult political terrain, and victims have expressed frustration with the lack of results. The Truth and Dignity Commission was plagued by internal divisions, while the Specialized Chambers has faced slow implementation. The other elements included in the law – reparations, memorialization and institutional reform – are still forthcoming. This report offers documentation and analysis that aims to enhance the current understanding of the experiences of this population of victims. It underscores the importance of actively involving victims in the process of societal transformation. The transitional justice process in Tunisia must recognize the experiences of indirect victims and seek to address the consequences of the violations they faced. This report highlights that this goes beyond ensuring their participation in the process, which is important, to contributing to their ability to exercise agency in their lives and make
- Topic:
- Gender Issues, Women, Gender Based Violence, Transitional Justice, and Victims
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Tunisia
8. A Catalyst for Change: Engaging Youth in Transitional Justice
- Author:
- Virginie Ladisch
- Publication Date:
- 04-2018
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ)
- Abstract:
- Although youth are key political and social stakeholders who have much to contribute to—and gain from—transitional justice processes, they often remain marginalized from such processes or are given only a limited and predetermined space in which to engage. In recent years, the peacebuilding field, in reflecting on what it means to meaningfully engage youth, has advanced a more nuanced framework that focuses on youth as agents of change.
- Topic:
- Youth, Youth Movement, Participation, and Marginalization
- Political Geography:
- Uganda, Kenya, Africa, Tunisia, and Côte d'Ivoire
9. Legal Frameworks for Specialized Chambers: Comparative Studies for the Tunisian Specialized Criminal Chambers
- Author:
- Howard Varney and Katarzyna Zdunczky
- Publication Date:
- 05-2018
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ)
- Abstract:
- In some contexts, the global community has resorted to international tribunals to prosecute the most serious past crimes, such as war crimes, crimes against of humanity, and genocide. While these international efforts contributed significantly to international justice, they were resource draining and located outside the countries in which the crimes took place. To overcome these issues, the so-called hybrid court was developed that combines domestic and international law and personnel. Tunisia has adopted a purely domestic hybrid court.
- Topic:
- Genocide, Transitional Justice, International Crime, and Humanitarian Crisis
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Tunisia
10. Transitional Justice in Tunisia: Tension Between the Need for Accountability and Due Process Rights
- Author:
- Howard Varney and Katarzyna Zdunczky
- Publication Date:
- 05-2018
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ)
- Abstract:
- Pursuing justice in a transitional context may take the form of multiple measures and goes beyond the pursuit of criminal prosecutions. Tunisia’s Basic Law on Transitional Law, adopted in December 2013, is a case in point. Despite its flaws, the the law introduced a fairly comprehensive framework to redress past abuses and to hold perpetrators to account.
- Topic:
- International Law, Law, and Transitional Justice
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Tunisia