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71. Possibilities and Challenges for Transitional Justice in Mali

Author:
Virginie Ladisch
Publication Date:
09-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ)
Abstract:
This briefing paper examines the potential in Mali for appropriate and effective transitional justice approaches that are reflective of the primary concerns and demands of citizens. Over 30 interviews were conducted with a wide range of actors in Bamako, including representatives of the state, judiciary, religious organizations, civil society, and international organizations. It concludes that positive steps have been taken toward advancing accountability in the country, but victims and civil society remain critical of the lack of integration among different transitional justice mechanisms as well as the government's top-down approach in a context where the local and communal are of primary importance.
Topic:
Government, Transitional Justice, Accountability, Institutions, and Community
Political Geography:
Africa and Mali

72. From going between to working together: Learning from structures and attitudes in South Africa’s transition

Author:
Jannie Malan
Publication Date:
12-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
African Journal on Conflict Resolution
Institution:
The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
Abstract:
In the old South Africa, with its inhabitants divided into two worlds by an ideology-driven white minority, H.W. van der Merwe was one of the first white Afrikaners who took the risk of crossing the boundary which in the culture of his own group was upheld as divinely ordained. On account of the radical change in his socio-political convictions, and his resulting research and teaching, he was appointed as director of an institution aiming at improving intergroup relations through applied research and educational programmes. He also took the lead in founding an association for conflict intervention. His remarkable contribution to the anti-apartheid struggle and the eventual resolving of the white-black conflict was not only a structural one, however, but also an interrelated attitudinal one. His outreaching understanding and his courageous quest for justice and peace enabled him to bring adversaries together, and also to confront the unflinching guardians of apartheid. It behoves us, therefore, to celebrate his example and to emulate it in our current context. We may be grateful for the degree to which transition has already taken shape in the new South Africa, but so much remains to be done to minimise socio-cultural distances between sectors of fellow-South Africans. H.W.’s legacy may indeed help us to respect ‘them’ and ‘us’ where appropriate, but also to promote an ‘all of us’ orientation as far as fellow-humanly possible.
Topic:
Apartheid, Transitional Justice, Social Cohesion, and Transition
Political Geography:
Africa and South Africa

73. African Union Transitional Justice Policy Framework in Practice: Implementing Accountability Measures

Author:
Jasmina Brankovic
Publication Date:
05-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
Abstract:
Based on work by Naomi Roht-Arriaza, this brief focuses on a central aspect of transitional justice: preventing impunity for past human rights abuses. Drawing on lessons from Latin America, the brief outlines several accountability processes available to African Union member states and African civil society organisations, the strengths and challenges of implementing these official processes at the national level and strategies for promoting accountability that have proven useful in diverse country contexts. It discusses regional litigation and domestic prosecutions, as well as reparations, truth telling and community‐based justice mechanisms.
Topic:
Human Rights, Transitional Justice, Accountability, and African Union
Political Geography:
Africa, South Africa, and Latin America

74. Opportunities and Challenges of South-South Partnership: Reflections on a Collaborative Research Project on Violence and Transition in Africa

Author:
Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
Publication Date:
04-2013
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
Abstract:
This report reflects on the experience of four South-based organisations in conducting collaborative research on violence and transition in Africa. It explores some of the challenges and opportunities offered by working collaboratively on common themes across different contexts with research partners with diverse goals and institutional arrangements, and seeks to draw some lessons for how such partnerships can benefit individual organisations and research on violence more generally. The report is based on the final project meeting where partners engaged in a joint reflection on more than three years of collaboration.
Topic:
Partnerships, Transitional Justice, Violence, and Collaboration
Political Geography:
Africa and South Africa

75. Judgment Denied: The Failure to Fulfill Court-Ordered Reparations for Victims of Serious Crimes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (French)

Author:
Sharanjeet Parmar and Guy Mushiata
Publication Date:
02-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ)
Abstract:
Following field research in late 2009 and a 2010 workshop in Kinshasa, ICTJ produced a report in French on the challenges of enforcing court-ordered reparations. This briefing paper outlines and summarizes the challenges and recommendations discussed in the report. It also proposes additional steps that the government, international community, victims and civil society organizations can take to address the failure of the DRC to fulfill outstanding orders for reparations, as well as broader measures that can be implemented, including non-judicial reparations measures. (French)
Topic:
Civil Society, Transitional Justice, Reparations, Victims, and Human Rights Violations
Political Geography:
Africa and Democratic Republic of Congo

76. Justice and peacebuilding in post-conflict situations

Author:
Lesley Connolly
Publication Date:
11-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
Abstract:
After the 1991-2001 civil war, Sierra Leone employed a new model of transitional justice, concurrently utilising a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and a Special Court. Encouragingly, this process incorporated special gender considerations, by expanding the mandate of both the TRC and Special Court to address sexual violence and encourage women to come forward and testify without fear of retribution. Both these institutions have been praised for successfully fulfilling their specific mandates and for aiding the country’s transition to peace. However, some parts of Sierra Leone’s society were left largely untouched by the process, as evidenced by widespread discrimination and gender inequalities which still occur today. It is proposed that this is not just a fault of Sierra Leone’s approach, but that it is an inherent flaw of the transitional justice process as a whole as the process is not suitable for use in addressing the root causes of conflict. For this reason, it is argued that a new mechanism of transitional justice, one which incorporates a peacebuilding process, would better address the needs of a post-conflict society. This would be done by focusing on transformation and promoting a long-term sustainable peace.
Topic:
Transitional Justice, Peace, Justice, Reconciliation, Truth, and Post-Conflict
Political Geography:
Africa and Sierra Leone

77. African Union Commission Consultation with African Union Member States on Transitional Justice

Author:
Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
Publication Date:
01-2012
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
Abstract:
This report is a reflection of a two-day expert consultation on Transitional Justice with African Union Member States organised by the Department of Political Affairs of the African Union Commission (AUC) in collaboration with the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR), which took place from 12–13 September 2011 in Cape Town, South Africa. The aim of the consultation was to develop a clear and more coherent understanding of contemporary applications of transitional justice in Africa in light of the ongoing processes towards the development of an African policy framework on transitional justice.
Topic:
Transitional Justice, Violence, Reconciliation, and African Union
Political Geography:
Africa and South Africa

78. Negotiating Transition: The Limits of the South African Model for the Rest of Africa

Author:
Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
Publication Date:
03-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
Abstract:
This report provides information and details from the seminar, 'Negotiating Transition: The Limits of the South African Model for the Rest of Africa,'. The seminar explored the impact that the South African model of transitional justice has had in other contexts. It also looked at the effect that political deals such as governments of national unity have on the possibility for effective justice post-conflict.
Topic:
Transitional Justice, Violence, and Truth and Reconciliation
Political Geography:
Africa and South Africa