Maximising Popular Participation in Transitional Justice in Africa: A Guidance Paper for Multilateral Actors
- Posted on
- In Policy, Publications, Research
- by Simon Robins and Jasmina Brankovic
Multilateral actors are increasingly interested in supporting transitional justice processes that maximise popular participation, especially by victims/survivors of violence and communities most affected by human rights abuses. Looking at the African context, this guidance paper outlines practical strategies for multilateral actors to mainstream participation in transitional justice processes, including formal, state-led measures and non-formal, civil society-led measures. The guidance is designed to ensure these processes are planned, funded and implemented in ways that can enable the agency of people impacted by past violations.
After discussing the challenges and opportunities of participation, the paper outlines a set of specific strategies for enabling participation in formal and non-formal transitional justice measures. They are presented alongside recommendations of concrete actions that multilateral actors can take to enhance popular participation in a transitional justice process, notably including support to civil society actors who are crucial mediators of popular participation in transitional justice.
A key message is that multilateral actors should seek to identify and support existing processes and practices – including community-based measures, traditional and religious practices, and others – that have buy-in and trust among the local population and provide networks and resources on which to build for a more contextualised, participatory and therefore sustainable transitional justice.
For more information and publications on mainstreaming popular participation in transitional justice, click here.
Maximising Popular Participation in TJ in Africa - Robins and Brankovic 2024
Simon Robins
Dr. Simon Robins is a Research Advisor to the Red Cross Red Crescent Missing Persons Centre, hosted by the International Committee of the Red Cross, and a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Applied Human Rights at the University of York.
Dr. Jasmina Brankovic is Senior Research Adviser at the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation. With a focus on participatory methods, Jasmina conducts research on inequality and socioeconomic transformation, climate justice, narrative change, and civil society strategies in transitional contexts. Her publications include 'Violence, Inequality and Transformation: Apartheid Survivors on South Africa's Ongoing Transition' (2020), 'The Global Climate Regime and Transitional Justice' (2018) and 'Advocating Transitional Justice in Africa: The Role of Civil Society' (2018). She has a PhD in Political Science from the University of Marburg (Centre for Conflict Studies).
