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111. Different Perceptions of International Justice

Author:
Mirza Dedic
Publication Date:
01-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Centre for Security Studies
Abstract:
The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the court established to preserve justice and promote reconciliation among the people of the former Yugoslavia, left different impressions on the people when it comes to the question of its success or failure. It would probably be too harsh to label the court and its work as failure, especially from this time-point (it is probably too early to give definite conclusions) and after taking into account that people in the Balkans would probably still wait for the justice to serve them and for the start of the processes supposed to lead towards the reconciliation, if there was not for the ICTY. However, controversies regarding its work, leniency, plea bargaining, and emphasis on deterrence and not on retribution; all of these factors, including others will be mentioned throughout this paper as the reasons influencing the dissatisfaction with the court and the emerging sense of injustice. In order to explain the work of the ICTY, it is first necessary to explain the notion of the international justice, as well as its importance in promoting the reconciliation among the warring sides through its “truth seeking value” (Rosenberg 2008). Apparent failure of the ICTY to satisfy the appetites of the people in Bosnia and Herzegovina led some of them to start favouring the local courts, disregarding many negative aspects related to their work.
Topic:
International Law, Conflict, Justice, Reconciliation, and International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY)
Political Geography:
Europe, Balkans, and Bosnia and Herzegovina

112. Women Empowerment: A Case Study of a Refugee Women's Group at the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (Appendix E)

Author:
Malose Langa
Publication Date:
12-2013
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
Abstract:
This report evaluates the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation's (CSVR's) work with a group of refugee women affected by torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. Over a period of six years, facilitators from CSVR met with a group of refugee women with the overall aim of facilitating their economic and social empowerment and setting in motion their integration into mainstream South African society. The intervention broke the stereotypes that cast refugee women as helpless victims who are in need of 'hand-outs' by galvanising their self-reliance and agency to form an organisation that will advocate for refugee rights and establish income-generating projects. This evaluation was conducted as part of the critical reflection process that fed into CSVR's development of a model for community intervention to address torture, detailed in Finding our way: Developing a community work model for addressing torture.
Topic:
Women, Refugees, Violence, and Reconciliation
Political Geography:
Africa and South Africa

113. The Persistence of Military Identities among Ex-Combatants in South Africa

Author:
Maringira Godfrey and Jasmina Brankovic
Publication Date:
04-2013
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
Abstract:
This report focuses on the ways in which ex-combatants have remained militarised at both an individual and a collective level in post-apartheid South Africa. It argues that ex-combatants' military identities and skills can be both beneficial and detrimental to their families, communities and the state. For this reason, as long as DDRR programmes remain short-term processes aimed chiefly at disarming ex-combatants without addressing their ongoing needs in highly unequal and violent societies, the demilitarisation of ex-combatants' minds and everyday lives will be an unattainable goal.
Topic:
Violence, Reconciliation, and Military
Political Geography:
Africa and South Africa

114. Healing the Legacies of Conflict in Afghanistan: Community Voices on Justice, Peace and Reconciliation

Author:
Emily Winterbotham
Publication Date:
01-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU)
Abstract:
This paper synthesises the findings from AREU's Legacies of Conflect research project from across the Bamiyan, Ghazni and Kabul research sites, in search of broadly acceptable approaches to address the legacies of conflict and support reconciliation in the country. It also examines the political context for transitional justice and reconciliation and considers which policies might need to be changed or adopted. The research found that many Afghans continue to struggle with the legacies of their wartime experiences. They usually saw peace and justice as complementary, and not as alternatives to each other. Justice was often widely conceived to include processes of recognition and recompense, and not simply criminal trials or punitive measures. There was a widespread desire for a strong and caring government that could drive a justice process and also negotiate for a peace that would not only end the insurgency, but reconcile Afghanistan’s different groups. However, a widespread pessimism prevailed about the prospect of this occurring in the near future. In the meantime, certain initiatives—whether locally-driven or at the national level—have the potential to provide a measure of comfort to conflict victims while paving the way for a more enduring peace.
Topic:
Conflict, Peace, Justice, and Reconciliation
Political Geography:
Afghanistan and Middle East

115. 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

116. 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

117. Reconstruction and Reconciliation: What’s Economics Got to Do With It?

Author:
Christopher J. Coyne
Publication Date:
01-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:
School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University
Abstract:
Reconstruction and reconciliation are perhaps the most pressing issues of our time. The ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, as well as the many problems generated by weak, failed, and conflict-torn states in other parts of the world, are examples of situations where these topics are relevant. Reconstruction entails rebuilding, and in some cases constructing, both formal and informal institutions in weak, failed, and postwar countries. More specifically, the reconstruction process involves the restoration of physical infrastructure and facilities, minimal social services, and structural reform in the political, economic, social, and security sectors. The end goal is the establishment of liberal democratic institutions, or at least the foundations of such institutions. A liberal democracy refers to political institutions which recognizes, respects, and enforces individual and civil rights, the rule of law, and private property.1 Typically the reconstruction process involves some array of indigenous citizens and elites as well as exogenous actors, whether they are military occupiers or international policymakers. Reconciliation can be seen as a key aspect of the broader reconstruction process and involves individuals coming to terms with past human and civil rights abuses, oppression, and violations of the rule of law and private property. Any shift from an illiberal to a liberal regime requires some form of reconciliation between enemies. The past violations of human, civil, and property rights by certain individuals must be addressed, but when doing so, a balance of retribution and reconciliation should be established. In the absence of such an ethic of forgiveness and reconciliation, the transition toward a liberal order will be incomplete.
Topic:
Economics, Reconstruction, Reconciliation, and Post-Conflict
Political Geography:
Middle East and Global Focus

118. Toward the Reunification of Cyprus: Defining and Integrating Reconciliation into the Peace Process

Author:
Virginie Ladisch
Publication Date:
05-2006
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Public and International Affairs (JPIA)
Institution:
School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), Princeton University
Abstract:
In the search for a solution to the “Cyprus problem,” the focus of debate has been on power sharing agreements, land exchanges, right of return, and economics. There has been little focus on reconciliation. This research, conducted one year after the referendum in which Cypriots were given an historic opportunity to vote on the reunifi cation of the island, places the concept of reconciliation at the center of the debate about the Cyprus problem. Based on data gathered through forty interviews with Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot politicians, businessmen, activists, academics, organizational leaders, economists, and members of civil society, this article presents Cypriots’ views on reconciliation. Drawing from literature on reconciliation in confl ict-divided societies as a framework, this article also analyzes the various perceptions Cypriots hold about reconciliation. Finally, this article identifi es initiatives that could be used to promote reconciliation in Cyprus. The process needs to begin immediately so that it can lay the groundwork for the open dialogue, trust building, and understanding that are essential to the successful settlement of the Cyprus problem.
Topic:
Territorial Disputes, Peace, Reconciliation, and Reunification
Political Geography:
Cyprus and Mediterranean