Different Voices in Transitional Justice

Abstract

Transitional justice processes are said to be context dependent: starting conditions vary form one place to another and as a result solutions should also be different. Similarly, these processes aim to be centered on those who suffered violations; those whom we claim should be empowered and have the agency to transform their situation. However, is this really the case? This panel explores the position of the individual and the community in specific mechanisms within transitional justice processes. It will examine whether in postconflict contexts, building peace and promoting justice is truly about being inclusive with the most vulnerable and powerless at the local level or rather to fulfill the claims of the powerful, such as ex-combatants who are potentially spoilers of a weak transitional justice process. Similarly, the panel will also examine whether the inclusion of traditionally excluded groups, such as victims, civil society and social movements, in mechanisms of conflict resolution, such as truth commissions, has really led to their empowerment or, instead, to legitimizing a process that is now ‘inclusive’. Finally, can we talk about reparations as being victim driven beyond being victim-centered? Victims’ agency should entail their active power to drive the process rather than their passive role of being the center in a process driven by others.

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