After a violent conflict comes to an end there is a transitional period before peace, security and stability can be said to have been restored, during which time a number of interconnected challenges must be addressed. As part of meeting these challenges transitional justice mechanisms deal with not just legal justice but moral, social and political justice. Measures include criminal prosecutions; truth commissions; reparations programmes; various kinds of institutional reforms, including of the security and judicial sectors; traditional justice and restorative justice measures; amnesties; memorialisation; and physical reconstruction programmes. A holistic approach to transitional justice will seek to provide recognition for victims, to foster civic trust and to promote possibilities for peace and reconciliation.
Violent conflict divides groups socially and geographically and the displacement of people from their homes and communities as a result of conflict is an important factor in the contexts in which transitional justice normally operates. Yet it has not figured prominently in either the literature or the practice of transitional justice. The re-creation of national identity requires the return of citizens displaced by the conflict, and the re-establishment of pluralistic societies particularly requires the effective reintegration of those who were displaced.
The sheer scale and complexity of the issues at stake mean that transitional justice measures often have a limited capacity to address the many challenges faced by displaced populations and to involve them in transitional justice measures. Yet the sustainability of nations, societies and communities emerging from violent conflict and seeking to achieve stability is directly linked to the durability of solutions for displaced people. Addressing displacement does not necessarily require a significant expansion of transitional justice’s agenda, although it has traditionally been heavily focused on institutions within national borders. But it does call for attention to the way that transitional justice measures are carried out and how transitional justice practitioners engage with displaced persons and respond to their justice claims, and relate to and interact with other actors whose work deals with displacement.
In the case of internally displaced people (IDPs), there is a clear obligation to allow participation of citizens in political and other processes. The engagement of refugees – and other migrants – is, however, both conceptually and practically more complicated and it seems that there have been few attempts to achieve it. Refugees themselves may be reluctant to engage for reasons such as fear of exposure or lack of confidence in either the progress of the process or the process itself.
- What are the incentives and disincentives for displaced people to engage in mechanisms of transitional justice?
- What are the incentives and disincentives for transitional justice actors – both indigenous and external – to engage displaced people?
- What are the key issues of concern to displaced people in transitional justice?
- Where do the main challenges lie in ensuring the success of transitional justice processes in respect of the involvement of displaced people?
- Are there particular aspects relating to gender and age that need to be considered in the context of transitional justice?
- Do traditional social practices mean that displaced people face difficulties in accessing restitution and compensation?
- Do international norms and practices stand in the way of the successful application of traditional social norms when it comes to engaging displaced people in transitional justice processes?
- What lessons can be drawn from current or past transitional justice processes and how context-specific are they?
- Can there be justifications for leaving displaced people out of transitional justice processes for the sake of the success of such processes, and what would the implications be for the future of displaced people?
Maximum length: 2,500 words.
We are particularly keen to reflect the experiences and knowledge of communities and individuals directly affected by these questions.
Please email the Editors at fmr@qeh.ox.ac.uk if you are interested in contributing or have suggestions of colleagues or community representatives who may wish to contribute. If you can put us in touch with young displaced people who might be interested in writing, please do email us; we are happy to work with individuals to help them develop an article.
If you are planning to write, we would be grateful if you would take note of our writing for FMR page.