ICTJ in the News

June 29, 2007

UU Sociologist Addresses Human Rights Forum In Yemen

University of Ulster Press Release

A UU sociologist has been telling delegates at a Human Rights conference in the Middle East, how people there can learn from the Northern Ireland experience.

Dr Patricia Lundy, from the University's Jordanstown campus, was part of an international panel of human rights activists and academics who met in Yemen to discuss transitional justice and gender.

The seminar, which was organized by the Sisters Arab Forum for Human Rights (SAF) and the New York based International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ), included representatives across the Middle East and North Africa.

Dr Lundy, who was speaking on the theme of community-based truth-seeking in Northern Ireland, said: "There are numerous ways in which the legacy of the past can be addressed. A community or ‘bottom-up' approach is one particular way in which a complex issue such as truth recovery might be approached.

"While there are undoubtedly many benefits from ‘top down' official truth recovery approaches such as that resulting from the Morocco Truth Commission, ‘bottom-up' approaches are embedded in and work first hand with those communities most affected by the conflict."

"Communities which are at the front line of conflict often experience intra-community conflict and division which is a direct result of years of political conflict being played out locally. Communities are not homogenous and such internal divisions can often be overlooked or excluded from the remit of a ‘top down' approach."

The seminar, which was conducted in English and Arabic, explored some of the challenges facing newly emerging democracies and how societies moving from conflict to peace might address the legacy of conflict and civil society demands for truth and justice.

For further information, please contact:

Press Office, Department of Public Affairs
Tel: 028 9036 6178
Email: pressoffice@ulster.ac.uk