A-team: Ana-Maria Paponja Renato Ivanković Slavica Kreťić
What are the most effective means to obtain justice and move towards reconciliation after a period of national trauma such as war or genocide?
O
ur opinion on the subject As
you
know
this
is
a
very
difficult topic, not in order to prepare materials
that will be presented related to that. It is hard to remain objective when we are haunted by the ghosts of the past as well. Our opinion is that we didn't reached the degree of reconciliation. At the very little provocation, sparks fly. Reconciliation is only on the surface. The real problems and real trauma were put under the carpet at most people and it is not object of disscussion.
I
ntroduction The United Nations has a long history of assisting societies devastated by conflict or emerging from repressive rule to re-establish the rule of law and come to terms with largescale human rights violations. For the UN system, transitional justice and the full range of processes and mechanisms associated with a society's attempt to come to terms with a legacy of large-scale past abuses, in order to Ensure accountability, serve justice and reconciliation It consists of both judicial and non-judicial processes and mechanisms, including prosecution initiatives, Facilitating initiatives in respect of the right to truth, delivering reparations, institutional reform and National Page 1 of 4
Consultations. Whatever combination is chosen must be in conformity with international legal standards and Obligations. Each transitional justice program is unique and Implemented in a specific societal context, often marked by broken institutions, exhausted resources, diminished security, and a distressed and divided population. The careful consideration of the particular transitional justice needs of a country may include assessing factors Such as the root causes of the underlying conflict, involving related violations of all rights, including civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, the identification of patterns of discrimination and vulnerable groups, Such as minorities, women, and children, and the condition of the country's justice and security sectors. To enhance the sustainability and relevance of transitional justice processes, these Should Be Carried out, where feasible, by local and national actors. In this regard, international assistance has to concentrate on development of national capacity to initiate and lead the process. Disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) initiatives Should Be Coordinated with transitional justice processes and mechanisms in a positively reinforcing manner. In line with the Charter, the UN supports accountability, justice and reconciliation at all times. The question for the UN is never Whether to pursue these but rather when and how. The nature and timing of Such measures Should be framed first of all in the context of International Legal Obligations and taking due account of the national context and the views of the national stakeholders, particularly victims. In situations in Which national conditions do not allow for or limit effectiveness of transitional justice measures, the UN supports activities that encourage and lay foundation for effective mechanisms and processes.
A-team: Ana-Maria Paponja Renato Ivanković Slavica Krešić Transitional justice Programmes can involve truth-seeking processes that map patterns of past violence, and unearth the causes and consequences of destructive Such events; prosecution initiatives Ensure that a fair trial of Those accused of committing crimes, including serious violations of international humanitarian law and crimes involving human rights violations, Reparations Programmes that provide a range of material and symbolic benefits to victims, and institutional reform that includes vetting the public service to remove from office Those public employees personally responsible for gross violations of human rights. National Consultations are a critical element as successful transitional justice Programmes necessitate meaningful public participation, particularly of victims. These Efforts are linked to and Should Be Coordinated with broader assistance Aimed at strengthening the overall rule of law in the country. The UN promotes the compliance of transitional justice processes and mechanisms with international norms and standards, including Those related to marginalized groups, Such as women and children. It further encourages a comprehensive approach integrating an appropriate combination of transitional justice processes and mechanisms in national strategies. UN Efforts seek to comprehensively address the root causes of conflicts and the related violations of all rights in an integrated and interdependent manner, so as to Achieve the broader objectives of societal transformation and prevention of further conflict. The UN provides support to transitional justice processes and mechanisms that involves developing standards and best practices, assisting in the design and implementation of transitional justice mechanisms, providing technical, material and financial support, and Ensuring that human rights and transitional Page 2 of 4
justice considerations are reflected in peace agreements.
P
urpose
The world have an ugly, bloody nature. Natur to kill because somebody is different, because the people don't share the same opinionbetween each other... The world have a nature that repeats the mistakes of the past which is passed without learning anything and that same world swore it would not happen again. Maybe we have the knowledge which provide us to fly into space, but we have a nature that put us into the abyss. That world has a saying: I can forgive but can not forget. Is it possible to forgive without forgetting? Does the oblivion forced to repeat mistakes. Everybody knows about the horrific events that took place during World War II and the world is solemnly promised that it should no longer be repeated. But we still have wars, we still have crimes against humanity and genocide. The question is what is to do to move on, without a possibillity of returning or „going ahead“ on page with similar content. Reconciliation is a complex process, a process that involves all stakeholders. The process should not be only rhetoric of politicians and „well-meaning peacekeepers“ who work in their own interest. Reconciliation involves investigating what happened, including the will of the state to cope with their parts or people who have committed crimes in their name! Reconciliation involves the will of the victims and perpetrators to move on, to leave it behind. It's easy to say to move on, but what if the father was known by a necklace that you gave him. It's easy to say: forget it, when there is no skeletons of thousands of people whose identification has not yet been processed because the skeleton is not complete or you know the fate of your family. It's easy to say:
A-team: Ana-Maria Paponja Renato Ivanković Slavica Kreťić forgive, when for the killing of your close family or friend you don't wait indictment and the offender have been amnestied. It is easy to talk about mechanisms when your child is not a child rapist from war. It is hard almost impossible when you need to do so, forget, forgive and move on, because otherwise is your personal destruction ... recociliation is a difficult process, which is why it is so necessary.
M
ethods
There are various methods to reach reconciliation. In accordance with our discussion all of them is needed , like a domino effect, all of them have an impact on each other. The first step is to search for the truth (restorative justice), what really happened, how the behavior of certain people caused the behavior of others.
(Agrentina-only disaperences), what issues should not be placed on, things that turn your head because they should not investigate it? (Chile-will not investigate the torture which not result death). There are rare cases in which the Commission has the right to investigate the truth to the end, without limits. (el Salvadore) The state is the one who is called upon to establish the commission, to investigate, to prosecute (unless the question of the jurisdiction is on ICC or a special tribunal mandated to one specific event; example: the Hague., to apologize and to start the process. The state is the one who choose the method and where to stop (mentioned earlier that vary from one another). What is important to note the Retributive justice system works on the method that for the whole truth you get amnesty from prosecution by the court, national/ international in terurn.
Is the true enough?
Does the
one who offers clossure and sincere remorse deserves to be forgiven? Is it fair to continue presecution? What are the limits?
"There are as many people as there are people in the world" Of course, the whole world does not participate in the war / genocide. But we all have opinions about, what happened and how it happened. But the one truth, the truth that happened to your closest knows only people who were there, who had ordered it. To start doing anything the truth is a very good foundation. Is it possible to get the complete truth? Should we seek the truth regardless of the outcome?Is the true manipulated? The Truth Comission operating in Argentina, Uganda and Sri Lanka focused on the missing, but there are lots of them which is active in Germany, Chad, Chile, Haiti and Ecuador. Total them, 21 have a mandate which is limited in time and usually confined of matter, ie, what should and what should not be investigated Page 3 of 4
The second step towards reconciliation is traditional justice. The goal is to punish criminals for their crimes regardless of whether he admitted everything or behaves like he/she heard about it on television, do you sincerely repented or deny guilt, even mocks to the victims of their misdeeds.State takes an active role representing the community. Knowledge and information have been found out trought
A-team: Ana-Maria Paponja Renato Ivanković Slavica Kreťić the investigation and crimninal court process The victims here have been pulled aside. For the war in Bosnia and herzegovina, as well as in the whole region have been established tribunal in The Hague. The Court was established by Resolution 827 of the United Nations Security Council, which was passed on 25 May 1993. It has jurisdiction over four clusters of crimes committed on the territory of the former Yugoslavia since 1991: grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions, violations of the laws or customs of war, genocide, and crimes against humanity. The maximum sentence it can impose is life imprisonment. Through the Tribunal, victims found out the truth, but majority of people from these areas still continue to doubt the political involvement of tribunal. Instead of reporting on the truth, media and politicans counted arrested members from each side.We should also stress out that the Tribunal didn't charge or convice the people which will be prusucated by the communities in Restorative system. Whether this represents a failure of the traditional justice system in relation to restorative system or maybe success because many of them would found themselves literally at the stake by the other side nation. Our opinion belives that traditional system prevents new witch hunt. It also respect perpetrator human rights whose existence, especially if the existence is in the the prison may give hope and message to victims that justice is maybe slow but attainable.
Third final step is awareness of the existence of the crime. Sounds simple but if the pepetratior admit to the victims that they had been tortured, that their loved ones would never see them, or will their fate be mistery till the memory of them exist that will be the huge step which lead to a general awareness phase of cooperation between people, the rebuilding of old friendships. Instead of prejudices between them the nations wthat have been in war can Page 4 of 4
evaluate individuals according to their deeds. The true remorse which is mentioned in the first two phases of the essay is underlined on the tird step.Apology is highly recomended. Certain state from the lowest to the highest governance structures must show respect to victims and loss they causeed.
C
onclusion What are the most effective means to obtain justice and move towards reconciliation after a period of national trauma Such as war or
genocide? All methods have it's own Pro et con sides. We did not choose the methods by arguments which is stated or by nursery rhymes. We firmly believe that for a full reconciliation we need all of them, emphasizing and implementing the good sides and reduce or even possible to eliminate the bad ones. In the end, society is the one that determines whether it is ready for reconciliation.