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The Failure of the U.N. in Relation to Transitional Justice in East Africa

Introduction

One of the consequences of the 3rd wave of democratization that occurred in the preceding quarter of the twentieth century has been to tackle lately democratizing countries with the requirement to come to tenures with their “evil past” that is the violations of human rights committed under strict rule. Transitional justice, which is one of the most rapidly developing areas within the democratization study, deals with the manner in which the claims arising from such wrongdoings, often undertaken by the state and its agents, should be handled fairly and equitably. The study of transitional justice is by no means confined to lawyers or to the discipline of the law. It is an eminently interdisciplinary area in which history, political science, law, theology, anthropology, sociology, and other disciplines meet. A number of institutes in several continents have been established in the initial decade of the twenty-first century to study the many dimensions of transitional justice, to analyze the different policy tools used to achieve its objectives, and to disseminate best practices in the field. The handling of transitional justice issues and their consequences affects the dynamics of the political transition and the subsequent democratic consolidation. Much like the latter two processes, transitional justice itself is also marked by contingency and paradox. Much depends on the historical context and the legacies of any given political trajectory. Transitions are, by definition, highly liquefied, and both the uses of the law and political action find themselves below a diverse set of regulations from those obtaining in calm and stability periods. To identify the transformative opportunities presented by the conjuncture, which will allow change to proceed toward the new order, becomes an essential task both for political leaders and for those responsible for the transitional justice tools.

Background

Somalia, categorized as a collapsed or failed state, is experiencing a two decade long civil strife, lawlessness and anarchy. There has also been no effective central government in Mogadishu. Numerous peace attempts aside, the country is also still grappling with problems of insecurity, bad governance, and a complete absence of the rule of law; hence the need for some form of transitional justice. Transitional justice can be conceptualized as a set of eclectic approaches that are used to systematic or widespread violations of human rights that often occur during authoritarian rule and/or war times. It is a process that allows the society to collectively address injustices from the past and move forward towards a just and peaceful future through reconciliation. War-torn countries like Somalia and DRC can use this in order to be able to transcend from a violent to a peaceful regime. In other words, it is the process of dealing with past human rights violations or war crimes, i.e. civil war, genocide, military dictatorship-related abuses etc. It involves both judicial and nonjudicial structures, initiatives and processes that include truth-seeking, prosecutions, reparations to victims and institutional reforms.

Transitional justice mechanisms are important as ...