Human rights and justice in Europe & CIS

The Development Issue:

In post-conflict societies the maintenance of long-term peace and stability can be achieved only if the population is confident that redress for grievances can be obtained through legitimate structures. In situations in which these legitimate structures are absent an element of urgency in the restoration of the rule of law exists. This is most evident in the heightened vulnerability of minorities, women, children, prisoners and detainees, displaced persons, refugees and others. National actors should be enabled and encouraged to form mechanisms and policies for the peaceful settlement of disputes and the fair administration of justice. Building upon the substantive achievements in introducing transitional justice to stakeholders and encouraging dialogue on the feasibility of introducing national and regional transitional justice mechanisms in the previous phase of the project, this subsequent phase aims to strengthen and institutionalize regional coordination in developing methods to remedy the legacies of the past conflicts. The means to achieve this will be to offer policy advice, specialized training, professional exchange and public information support to local stakeholders .

The Outputs:

The TJP produced the first ever regional assessment of transitional justice in June 2006, “Transitional Justice: Assessment Survey of conditions in the former Yugoslavia”. he conclusions and recommendations from this report were presented at the International Conference Building Regional Partnerships for Transitional Justice Initiativesthat was held in Belgrade in June 2006. Over two hundred participants from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia from the judiciary, governmental institutions and associations of victims gathered for the first time to discuss the feasibility of national and regional transitional justice mechanisms. A specialised training course, the multidisciplinary Learning Workshop was held for Members of Parliament and representatives of judiciaries in Montenegro in August 2006. In November 2006, a mapping report and implementation framework for transitional justice outreach activities was developed. The report provides recommendations for core interventions in outreach in each of the states in which the programme is being implemented. The programme has also commissioned Policy Papers authored by prominent experts from the region on issues relevant to conflict prevention, justice and development aimed at aiding government agencies, legislators and CSOs in addressing the legacies of the past. Several national interventions have also been initiated, including support to the Attorney General's office of the Republic of Croatia in witness protection and victim's reparations; outreach campaigns in Bosnia and Herzegovina; war crimes training for the Montenegrin judiciary in partnership with the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Montenegro; support to the Bosnian CSO Research and Documentation Centre http://www.idc.org.ba/; and an Early Warning System (EWS) report on the post-conflict status in Kosovo.

The Strategy:

The aim of this next phase of the Transitional Justice Programme is to strengthen the research, training, knowledge sharing and public information capacities of post-conflict social institutions in order to precipitate the creation of nationally driven remedying policies and mechanisms. The means to achieve this will be to offer best practices, capacity building and strategic policy advice assisting the governments' and CSO's efforts in addressing cross-cutting development, conflict prevention and justice issues. Building upon the work of the previous phase of the transitional justice programme in laying the groundwork for regional cooperation and encouraging dialogue on the feasibility of transitional justice initiatives, the result of this next phase will be the institutionalization of national and regional transitional justice policies and mechanisms. The programme intends to develop four mutually re-enforcing capacities in the domain of post-conflict reform: (1) Research; (2) Training; (3) Knowledge sharing; (4) Public information.