Press Releases:

January 26, 2007

ICTJ Launches New Publication on Sub-Saharan Africa

Provides Comprehensive Analysis of Transitional Justice Efforts in Region

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT
Suzana Grego
Director of Communications
Tel +1 917 637 3845
sgrego@ictj.org

NEW YORK, January 26, 2007—The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) today announced the launch of Overpromised, Underdelivered: Transitional Justice in Sub-Saharan Africa. The paper, part of the Center’s ongoing Occasional Paper Series, is one of the only comprehensive analyses of past transitional justice efforts in the region.

“There are vibrant debates throughout Africa today about how to best confront the legacies of past human rights abuse and atrocity,” said the ICTJ’s Louis Bickford, who commissioned the publication. “From the trials of former dictators Hissène Habré and Charles Taylor, to the complex and enduring legacy of apartheid in South Africa, transitional justice has taken on a particularly strong urgency and relevance in Africa. Through its rigorous comparative examination of trends and patterns in transitional justice in Africa, this publication seeks both to enrich those debates and offer concrete policy recommendations for the future.”

The paper opens on a broadly informative note, with a background and genealogy of transitional justice, and then turns to an examination of key transitional justice approaches and country-specific implementation challenges. It draws heavily on past experiences in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ghana, Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and South Africa, applying a comparative lens to these contexts to explore the obstacles encountered by these countries in pursuing accountability for past abuses.

While all are unique contexts, patterns in the research suggest a strong need for improvement in certain recurring areas. In almost all of the countries examined, domestic prosecutions had not been pursued in a systematic or timely manner and this absence of effective judicial response tended to be matched by a lack of adequate alternate options for redress for victims. Further, most contexts were simultaneously influenced by high public expectations and political compromises, and limited government resources, which together severely undermined efforts to effectively address the past and engender trust in the future. Similarly, few attempts were made to vet alleged perpetrators from the security forces and other public positions, perpetuating an atmosphere of impunity and fear that had typified the pre-transition periods.

The paper asserts that many of the difficulties encountered in the implementation of transitional justice measures have resulted from a crippling combination of institutional deficiencies, poverty, and deep fissures between governments and citizens. It concludes that the institutions responsible for this breakdown must be analyzed and sufficiently reformed in order for transitional justice approaches to work.

“Transitional justice measures are usually implemented with the aim of strengthening state institutions,” said the author of the paper, Lydiah Kemunto Bosire. “Ironically, their actual success is highly dependent on the existing functionality of those institutions, which are often very weak following periods of severe human rights abuse.”

The paper concludes by challenging practitioners to examine their assumptions by identifying gaps in knowledge about the way in which transitional justice actually contributes to democratic consolidation.

To read the paper, click here.

For more information on the ICTJ’s work in Africa, visit the Africa page on our website.

The ICTJ's Work in Africa

In an area characterized by rapid multiple transitions-many with regional rather than merely national implications-the ICTJ has doubled its efforts to engage with as many relevant partner organizations and transitional justice initiatives as possible. While the Center has been active throughout Sub-Saharan Africa since its inception in 2001, it is currently involved in a wide range of countries, including Burundi, the DRC, Liberia, Ghana, Sierra Leone, South Africa, and Uganda. Ever increasing demand for its expertise and services has led to an expansion of the ICTJ's presence in the region and an increase in accessibility of its resources.

Anticipating the first elections in more than four decades in the DRC, the Center launched a two-year program and established a permanent presence there to support transitional justice initiatives. Similarly, in support of Liberia's ongoing transition, ICTJ staff and consultants have worked with the UN and local organizations on reforming the security forces; established a country office in Monrovia; and provided extensive advice on the creation and operation of the recently inaugurated Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The Center also has a country office in Cape Town, South Africa, where its staff are contributing to that country's ongoing transition process by working with a range of organizations, as well as running annual four-month fellowships programs. In response to overwhelming demand in the region, in late 2006, the ICTJ held its first international francophone conference in Yaoundé, Cameroon, bringing together a wide range of practitioners and specialists eager to expand the breadth of transitional justice knowledge on the continent and in the larger francophone world.

About the ICTJ

The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) assists countries pursuing accountability for past mass atrocity or human rights abuse. The Center works in societies emerging from repressive rule or armed conflict, as well as in established democracies where historical injustices or systemic abuse remain unresolved.

In order to promote justice, peace, and reconciliation, government officials and nongovernmental advocates are likely to consider a variety of transitional justice approaches including both judicial and nonjudicial responses to human rights crimes. The ICTJ assists in the development of integrated, comprehensive, and localized approaches to transitional justice comprising five key elements: prosecuting perpetrators, documenting and acknowledging violations through non-judicial means such as truth commissions, reforming abusive institutions, providing reparations to victims, and facilitating reconciliation processes.

The Center is committed to building local capacity and generally strengthening the emerging field of transitional justice, and works closely with organizations and experts around the world to do so. By working in the field through local languages, the ICTJ provides comparative information, legal and policy analysis, documentation, and strategic research to justice and truth-seeking institutions, nongovernmental organizations, governments and others.