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
Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
Abstract:
Peacebuilding is an overtly political act laden with sociocultural assumptions, preferences and values. It is also an act impelled by the geoeconomic and geopolitical considerations of both the protagonists and some "invisible hands" with a stake in the ongoing conflict. In essence, the process of defining African peacebuilding and its socioeconomic value is both revolutionary and futuristic in pointing to a possible trajectory for the development of the sector beyond its bureaucratic organizational forms. This discussion paper explores the relationship between the
African philosophy of Ubuntu and the practice of peacebuilding in historical and contemporary Africa. In particular, it seeks to establish Ubuntu's actual and potential value-added to shaping the theory and praxis of peacebuilding in Africa.
Topic:
Peacekeeping, Conflict, Social Roles, and Mythology
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
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
Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
Abstract:
Within the international development and human rights communities, awareness of the use of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) as a tool of war has grown significantly over the past two decades. Truth commission have emerged as a key response to support victims of CRSV and provide recommendations on how the state should provide assistance and avoid future violations. This report draws on an analysis of the final reports of truth commissions in four African countries—Sierra Leone (2004), Liberia (2009), Kenya (2015), and Tunisia (2019)—to explore the evolving nature of truth commission engagement with this specific mandate on the continent.
Topic:
Conflict, Sexual Violence, Peace, Reconciliation, and Truth
Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
Abstract:
Following the African model of transitional justice presented in the African Union Transitional Justice Policy, this report identifies ways to conceptualise and integrate healing, particularly from psychological wounds, into holistic and contextualised transitional justice practice on the continent. The report draws on reflections from African practitioners engaging with transitional justice issues in The Gambia to share lessons learnt with civil society and other actors seeking to do similar work in the region and beyond. It presents ideas for designing and implementing locally guided, tailored and sustainable mental health and psychosocial support interventions that amplify local knowledge and practices, rather than dampening them with external expertise.
Topic:
Health, Transitional Justice, Psychology, and Mental Health
Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
Abstract:
Inaugurated in 2017, the annual African Transitional Justice Forum provides a multi-stakeholder platform for identifying solutions to common problems in a manner that is 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. It aims to facilitate cooperation between various stakeholders to aid in the effective implementation of the African Union Transitional Justice Policy, adopted in 2019. This report outlines the discussions and recommendations of the Second African Transitional Justice Forums, held on 16–18 October 2018 in Khartoum, Sudan.
Topic:
Regional Cooperation, Transitional Justice, Peace, Reconciliation, and African Union
Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
Abstract:
The Third African Transitional Justice Forum, held on 24–26 September 2019 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, followed the February 2019 adoption of the African Union Transitional Justice Policy (AUTJP), a guiding framework for African Union member states emerging from violent conflicts or repression and establishing transitional justice processes to address past abuses and promote sustainable peace and inclusive development. The Forum focused on the AUTJP's eleven constitutive elements: Peace Processes; Transitional Justice Commissions; African Traditional Justice Mechanisms; Reconciliation and Social Cohesion; Reparations; Redistributive (Socio-economic) Justice; Memorialisation; Diversity Management; Justice and Accountability; Political and Institutional Reforms; and Human and Peoples' Rights. It aimed to popularise the AUTJP and deepen participants' understanding of the policy.
Topic:
Regional Cooperation, Transitional Justice, Peace, Reconciliation, and Humanitarian Crisis
Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
Abstract:
The Fourth African Transitional Justice Forum, held 0n 26–28 October 2020, addressed the state of transitional justice on the continent, specifically its contribution to the African Union's 2020 theme of the year, "Silencing the Guns," amid the challenges and opportunities presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Forum panels focused on development, violent extremism, victims' experiences and fundraising in relation to African-led transitional justice.
Topic:
International Cooperation, Violent Extremism, Transitional Justice, Peace, Reconciliation, Pandemic, African Union, and COVID-19
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