This report compares findings from two population-based surveys (in 2005 and 2007) in districts of northern Uganda most affected by 21 years of conflict, including the Acholi districts. The studies capture attitudes about peace, justice, and social reconstruction. Developing a deeper understanding of the needs and desires of affected populations is crucial for long-term conflict resolution.
This paper focuses on the issue of reparations in Darfur. It particularly emphasizes victims' right to reparation for the harm done to them, and aims to ensure that this right is recognized and upheld in any peace process. Drawing on experiences from other regions, it reviews and addresses some of the key challenges to creating an effective victim reparations program once peace is achieved and security is restored.
In the aftermath of massive or systematic violations or more generalized conflict,providing reparation in a meaningful way poses a daunting challenge. This 15 page paper covers the nature and objectives of reparations, forms of reparations, policy design of reparations, and financing and implementation.
This paper highlights positive examples of the media's role in contributing to public debates about the war in the former Yugoslavia. It compares and contrasts state-controlled media before and during the war with independent media. Ultimately, it considers the media's potential for promoting further debate and reflection and contributing to transitional justice.
This paper assesses the impact of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on conflicts in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The Sudanese government challenged and undermined the jurisdiction of the ICC from the start. Conversely, the leading actors in the DRC supported the ICC, viewing it as a key component in efforts to end impunity in the country.
This paper compares and contrasts peace negotiations in Sierra Leone and Liberia. It delineates lessons in peacemaking that emerge from this comparison. These include: considering all policy options, taking a nation's recent history into account, reinterpreting and challenging questions of justice, allowing civil society to play a role, and prosecuting key protagonists.
This report provides an update on the developments in the Anfal trial before the Iraqi High Tribunal, including the trial of Saddam Hussein, his cousin Ali Hassan al-Majid, and five other co-defendants. This update focuses on the prosecution witness and documentary evidence phases of the trial, drawing on information taken directly from observer notes or detailed media reporting.
Following the first international conference on the subject (Memorialization and Democracy), this report considers how memorialization efforts around the globe can serve democracy. It encourages policy-makers to view memorials as serious social and political forces and to create innovative strategies for integrating them into democracy-building plans. It aims to encourage continuing discussion and analysis on the subject, emphasizing that memorialization plays a central role in the direction and shape of civic life and politics.
This paper examines the benefits of introducing justice-related considerations into disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) programs, an idea that has only recently been considered. Drawing links between DDR and reparations programs – the former a peace and security measure and the latter a justice measure– can make both more effective. Synergizing the two can contribute to creating both a more peaceful and more just future.
This study examines the development of restitution and reparations in international law and practice over the last century. It aims to provide recommendations on how restitution can best contribute to transitional justice by reviewing four case-studies: the Czech Republic, South Africa, Bosnia, and Guatemala. The paper provides general conclusions on how restitution–particularly property restitution as a remedy for forced displacement–can best be implemented in contemporary transitional settings.