Transitional Justice

Drawing on African countries’ experiences, this policy brief examines the progress, prospects and problems in traditional transitional justice processes, particularly regarding their complementarity to state or formal processes in providing holistic justice for victims of past violations. Further, this policy brief draws attention to the reality of traditional justice mechanisms that operate in the absence of a state or formal…

Colonialism in Africa was a violent act from its conceptualisation in the 18th century to its far-reaching implementation, which included genocides, war, countless human rights violations, loss of land and displacement, and which affected different African countries based on: the type of colonisation, the agency of local people and the interests of colonial agents, who were primarily traditional male leaders…

Over the last few years, there has been an increased visibility of the state of the lives of the LGBTQIA+ population throughout Africa. What has been uncovered is that LGBTQIA+ lives have been plagued by severe violence during conflict and post-conflict phases, and for the most part these experiences have gone unspoken and undocumented. As LGBTQIA+ rights organisations gain momentum…

The field of transitional justice has evolved considerably over the last 30 years. Key to these developments have been the increasingly strong voices of different sectors of society who have demanded that their experiences be acknowledged, that their particular and diverse needs be recognized, and that they be accepted as essential stakeholders in transitional justice processes. This call for greater…