Search

Begin New Search Political Geography Africa Content Type Policy Brief Publishing Institution Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR) Publication Year within 10 Years Publication Year within 5 Years

1. Harnessing Public Employment Programmes' Potential: An Intervention Brief Focusing on Youth Inclusion in South Africa's Community Work Programme

Author:
M. Langa
Publication Date:
01-2023
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
Abstract:
Youth continue to be worst affected by social and economic issues such as unemployment, substance abuse and violence (ILO, 2021; United Nations, 2011). South African youth are no exception to this claim, experiencing the world’s highest rate of unemployment as well as some of the highest rates of homicide and gender-based violence (Clifford, 2020; Rebello, 2021). These challenges have gained increased recognition from stakeholders, such as the South African government, with the Presidential Youth Employment Initiative representing one of many recent initiatives. This intervention brief aims to contribute to conversations around how to better address the challenges faced by South African youth. It builds on research conducted by the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR), which focused on how public employment programmes, specifically the Community Work Programme (CWP), may contribute to youth social and economic inclusion, which may further assist in reducing the vulnerability of South African youth. This brief highlights how some youth have negative perceptions of the CWP, which primarily stem from the nature of the activities carried out by the CWP and a lack of accurate knowledge about the programme. Examples from four CWP sites highlight how youthoriented activities may attract greater interest in the programme among youth. It also highlights how youth have benefitted and can continue to benefit from the programme.
Topic:
Government, Employment, Youth, Unemployment, and Inclusion
Political Geography:
Africa and South Africa

2. Youth Inclusion in Transitional Justice Policy in Africa: Youth Contribute to Shaping the Way Forward

Author:
Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
Publication Date:
03-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
Abstract:
Including youth in the design and implementation of transitional justice is now being recognized as a key priority that has been long neglected. Such inclusion and participation would strengthen the value of transitional justice initiatives for society and make them more responsive to youth priorities and perspectives. This policy brief draws on the voices of youth in four African countries to guide the debate about how youth can be involved in transitional justice policy development and provide recommendations on taking this forward.
Topic:
Transitional Justice, Youth, Violence, Participation, and Inclusion
Political Geography:
Africa

3. Reparations for Victims of the Marikana Masssacre

Author:
Hugo van der Merwe, Jordi Vives-Gabriel, and Malose Langa
Publication Date:
06-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
Abstract:
This policy brief presents a summary assessment of the progress made in providing redress for victims of the Marikana Massacre,1 when 34 striking miners were killed by the South African Police Service (SAPS) in 2012 and ten people were killed in the conflict that led up to it. In the ten years since the massacre, there has been meagre progress in addressing its consequences. Direct victims and their relatives have not received full reparations, the community of Marikana remains underdeveloped and deeply divided, and the apartheid legacy of the mining sector in South Africa remains an unresolved wound in the national psyche. An integrated approach is required to address both the systemic injustices and the specific legacies of the Marikana Massacre, while being clear about the specific responsibilities of all the stakeholders. This policy brief spells out key facts about the events, outlines what progress that has been made in the last ten years in seeking truth, justice and reconciliation, and spells out recommendations for state, corporate and civil society actors on the way forward.
Topic:
Torture, Criminal Justice, State Violence, Police, and Reparations
Political Geography:
Africa and South Africa

4. Advancing Youth Inclusion and Violence Prevention through Public Support Programmes

Author:
Jasmina Brankovic
Publication Date:
11-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
Abstract:
State-run socio-economic and livelihood support programmes have been shown to increase the social inclusion of young people and thereby contribute to the prevention of violence involving youth. This practice brief outlines strategies for civil society practitioners to advocate for these public programmes, improve their implementation and amplify their positive effects, based on experiences in Southern and East Africa.
Topic:
Youth, Violence, Inclusion, and Livelihoods
Political Geography:
Africa, South Africa, and East Africa

5. Youth Inclusion in the Development of South Africa's National Youth Policy (2020–2030): Reflections and Recommendations

Author:
Steven Rebello
Publication Date:
11-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
Abstract:
South Africa's National Youth Policy (NYP) 2020–2030 (DWYPD, 2020) represents the country's third attempt to outline actions that can or should be taken, by government and other stakeholders, to facilitate youth development at local and national levels. Meaningful youth inclusion and participation represents a central value within this policy. This emphasis on inclusion aligns with the Constitution of South Africa, where public participation in governance is enshrined as a constitutional imperative. Recognising this emphasis on youth inclusion, the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR) engaged with a key representative within the Department of Women, Youth and People with Disabilities (DWYPD) to determine what steps or activities the department has initiated to include youth in the development of the NYP 2020–2030 (hereafter referred to as the NYP 2030).
Topic:
Development, Governance, Youth, and Inclusion
Political Geography:
Africa and South Africa

6. The Youth's Continent: Meaningful Youth Inclusion in Policy and Programme Cycles

Author:
Steven Rebello, Brian Kimari, and Mwangi Mwaura
Publication Date:
11-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
Abstract:
This policy brief develops from research carried out by the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR, South Africa) and the Centre for Human Rights and Policy Studies (CHRIPS, Kenya). Known as the Youth Inclusion for Violence Prevention Project, this research investigated the role of socio-economic and livelihood support programmes in promoting youth social and economic inclusion and preventing violence. A key finding of the research highlighted how such programmes continue to follow a top-down approach, where youth are either merely viewed as beneficiaries or not meaningfully involved in conceptualising, implementing, evaluating and revising such programmes. A discussion around the value of greater youth inclusion is supplemented with examples of how youth may have been more meaningfully included in South Africa's Community Work Programme (CWP) as well as Kenya's Youth Employment Opportunities Project (KYEOP). The brief concludes with recommendations relevant to youth inclusion in these as well as other socio-economic and livelihood support programmes.
Topic:
Employment, Youth, Violence, and Inclusion
Political Geography:
Africa and South Africa

7. The Status of Amnesty Provisions in Situations of Transition under the African Charter

Author:
Solomon Dersso
Publication Date:
05-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
Abstract:
This policy paper presents a review of the analysis of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights on the legal validity of amnesty provisions under the African Charter. It examines how the obiter dictum of the Commission in Thomas Kwoyelo v. Uganda advances its jurisprudence on amnesty and the parameters the Commission has set for evaluating amnesty provisions.
Topic:
Human Rights, Legal Theory, Violence, Peace, and Reconciliation
Political Geography:
Africa

8. Transitional Justice in Africa: What's Human Rights Got to Do with It?

Author:
Elsabe Boshoff
Publication Date:
05-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
Abstract:
The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights has the potential to play a significant role in the development of holistic transitional justice approaches by providing a framework for states based on the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and related regional human rights instruments. This policy brief presents ways in which the African Commission's 2019 Study on Transitional Justice and Human and Peoples' Rights in Africa develops a comprehensive human rights-based framework for transitional justice processes on the continent, as well as ways in which transitional justice can be mainstreamed in the African Commission's own work.
Topic:
Human Rights, International Cooperation, Transitional Justice, and Humanitarian Crisis
Political Geography:
Africa

9. The African Union Transitional Justice Policy: Expanding the Frontiers of Transitional Justice

Author:
Solomon Dersso
Publication Date:
05-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
Abstract:
The African Union Transitional Justice Policy (AUTJP), adopted in 2019, is the culmination of a nearly decade-long legislative process. It endows the African Union with a full-fledged justice architecture in combination with its human rights architecture and the Malabo Protocol on the criminal jurisdiction of the African Court. This policy brief provides a summary of the salient elements of the AUTJP and a discussion on the importance of the policy for societies in transition. It outlines what this policy means in terms of the role of the African Union and how it can be used by affected groups and advocacy organizations, as well as the prospects and challenges for implementation.
Topic:
International Cooperation, Transitional Justice, Regionalism, and African Union
Political Geography:
Africa

10. Charting the Course for Transitional Justice in Africa: Recommendations of the 2017–2020 African Transitional Justice Forums

Author:
Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation
Publication Date:
06-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
Abstract:
From 2017 through 2020, the Department of Political Affairs of the African Union Commission and the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation organised annual African Transitional Justice Forums—multistakeholder platforms for identifying solutions rooted in collective and national experiences, sharing best practices to advance an African transitional justice discourse and practice, and generating new ideas on how to support transitional justice processes on the continent, while facilitating cooperation. The ideas and experiences shared at these Forums have contributed to the development, dissemination and implementation of the 2019 African Union Transitional Justice Policy, in addition to critical reflection on how to elaborate its provisions. This policy brief presents the main recommendations of the four African Transitional Justice Forums.
Topic:
International Cooperation, Transitional Justice, Peace, and African Union
Political Geography:
Africa