Since 2010, the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR) has been collaborating with the African Union, regional economic communities and other regional institutions, numerous states, a range of civil society organisations and victim/survivor groups to document transitional justice ideas and practices in Africa and to articulate an African approach to transitional justice.
In 2019, the African Union adopted its Transitional Justice Policy (AUTJP), which provides a continental framework and a set of tools for promoting holistic transitional justice, defined as “the various (formal and traditional or non-formal) policy measures and institutional mechanisms that societies, through an inclusive consultative process, adopt in order to overcome past violations, divisions and inequalities and to create conditions for both security and democratic and socio-economic transformation” (para. 19). The AUTJP looks beyond retributive approaches and draws on traditional, indigenous and community-based practices to address legacies of conflict, governance deficits and development challenges in an inclusive manner, while considering the gender, intergenerational and ethnocultural dimensions of peace and justice.
As policy makers, civil society actors and other stakeholders begin not only to apply the AUTJP but also to expand on its principles and elements, CSVR has created the African Transitional Justice Hub. The hub serves as a platform for documenting best practices in African transitional justice, generating new ideas on how to support transitional justice processes on the continent, and facilitating cooperation among diverse stakeholders.
The African Transitional Justice Hub is updated on a regular basis. If you would like to contact CSVR about an update, error or other feedback, please email info@csvr.org.za with ‘African TJ Hub Feedback’ as the subject line.
Acknowledgements
CSVR’s Advocacy Programme led the establishment of the African Transitional Justice Hub.
Jasmina Brankovic managed the design, content development and implementation of the hub, as well as the redesign and update of the CSVR website, in 2021. Annah Moyo-Kupeta and Gugu Nonjinge provided crucial support in the hub’s development.
Hugo van der Merwe, Jasmina Brankovic and Sufiya Bray oversaw the drafting of the country case studies in the transitional justice processes database in 2015–2021. Many of the case studies were drafted by J.D. candidates from the William & Mary Law School, as part of an ongoing internship programme with CSVR.
Sophia Laster, Jemma Blacklaw and Jayde Morgan compiled the truth commissions database in 2020–2021, while Elsabé Boshoff researched and drafted the peace processes database in 2020. Hari Tesfaye compiled the African transitional justice experts database in 2021, and Vaughn Rajah and Jesse Copelyn researched and drafted the compilation of continental transitional justice frameworks in 2021.
CSVR is grateful to our funder, a private foundation, for their financial support for this work.