For countries emerging out of conflict or countries that are transitioning into a democracy, the most significant issue these countries face is how to encourage different conflicting groups to coexist peacefully after years of conflict. The most advocated means of ensuring that these groups co exist peacefully is the use of truth commissions. Truth commissions are bodies that are established to investigate past violations of human rights in a particular country. These violations include violations by the government, the military, and other armed opposition forces. Truth commissions have four main characteristics and these include the focus on the past, investigation of a pattern of violations over a specific period of time, are temporary commissions …show more content…
Transitional justice as defined by the United Nations is a set of mechanisms and processes that are linked to a societies attempt to embrace past violations in order to facilitate accountability, serve justice and foster reconciliation. Transitional justice include judicial and non judicial processes that focus on the right to truth, institutional reform, consultations and reparations. Because violations of human rights do not only affect the victims but society at large, efforts should be made to ensure that such violations do not recur. Transitional justice as facilitated by truth commissions ensure that institutions that were involved or incapable of preventing past human rights violations are reformed. If past human rights violations are not addressed, they are likely to lead to mistrust among different groups, in state institutions and may also hinder the attainment of security and peace. This in turn may result in a cyclical recurrence of human rights violations. Truth commissions in this regard provide opportunities to attain justice for past violations by means of political transition. Most truth commissions are formed in the midst of conflicts or in the process of building peace. One country where truth commissions has become an effective tool for transitional justice is Sri Lanka. Investigations were conducted on the misdeeds by the government and the military during …show more content…
Truth commissions trough its process facilitates resolution of societies conflicts. Healing in this case is attained though community building and consolidation of political transitions. Reconciliation is a result of healing and involves increased dialogue between former waring factions, lack of bitterness and a unified understanding of past events. Reconciliation after a past of human rights violations result in a smoother transition to a peaceful society while at the same time improving respect for the rule of law within that society. Unlike trials which focus on perpetrators, truth commissions focus on on the victims and are also non adversarial which creates a comfortable environment for the victims. This environment offers an opportunity for the victims to tell their stories and recieve an official acknowledgement for their suffering. Truth commissions also create a common public platform where society can restructure the political community. Additionally truth commissions facilitate moral reconsideration by dealing with difficult issues raised in the past violations. An example of a country where truth commissions facilitated such process is South Africa. Truth commissions were effective in addressing violations that resulted during the apartheid regime and facilitated the transition of the South African community post apartheid.
In conclusion, it is imperative to
and make sure other similar cases don’t happen in the future. Dealing with the wrongfully convicted is the first topic that is suggested within the commission, what is suggested is an independent review mechanism that would need to be put into place by the Attorney General. This means that this mechanism would be for the purpose of providing those who claim that they have been wrongfully convicted or those who have information on a case that had a potential wrongful conviction a place to approach with their concerns. The next top of suggests involves minorities and the criminal justice system, it is proposed by the commission that the Department of Attorney General publish a Policy on Race Relations to ensure that minorities are being better represented at all levels of the Canadian criminal justice system, it is also committed to the elimination of any inequalities of race within the system. An Alternative Penalty act is also proposed meaning that individuals will not be forced to serve time simply because they are financially unable to pay for a because of poverty.
These human rights 'instruments', as they are called, have fixed how many rights apply to particular groups of human beings such as women or children. They have also come up with new ideas that were not part of the thinking of those who first drafted the Universal Declaration. The link between human rights and other pillars is clearly evident all the way through the UDHR. First, it allows, in the Preamble, that the credit of the unchallengeable rights of all people is the groundwork of freedom, justice and peace across the world. Secondly, it expands the UN Charter’s stated purpose of encouraging growth by giving economic, social and cultural rights the in the same degree of safety that an individual finds for civil and political rights (Marshall
A Bishop in South Africa said this to illustrate this principle“The TRC went into a place like Sharpeville and had a hearing. But as we know, in a day you might be able to get through five, six, seven people at the most. And in a community like this … you’ve got hundred[s] who have been profoundly traumatized who [want their stories] told,(Document 4)” This demonstrates that many cannot even get the healing effect of testifying in front of the court ( and do not get any other benefits from it). An Article from BBC stated “ Truth and reconciliation has been hard to come by in South Africa.
To many, violation of human rights is a serious issue. This shows that for every negative force, there is always someone who recognizes the wrong and seeks to correct
The hypothetical story they gave included a state-based process and their “envisioned process will also diverge from previous truth and reconciliation commissions by being a permanent process, with ongoing mechanisms for reporting, including both anonymous and nonanonymous public testimony”(Colvin & Hill, 2020). They highlight that this process is only a part of the journey for healing, forgiveness, and education and they suggest there should be programs where victims can go through therapy and where offenders can reflect on their previous actions and how to prevent similar situations to arise in the future. A truth and reconciliation system will also be able to educate and enhance societies by normalizing individuals and groups to speak about their truths and reconcile with past harm. Colvin and Hill believe that this system would promote people to speak openly about power and sex, it would encourage individuals to come forward about their previous misdeeds and correct them, and allow survivors/victims to reconcile with their offenders.(Colvin & Hill,
I think remembering to follow Dow’s example of practicing empathy and treating the accused with dignity will be helpful in this role, by allowing me to focus on outcomes that both serve justice and allow the rehabilitation of those found guilty of crimes. The same way Dow’s Ted Talk struck a chord with me, Kimberley Motley’s Ted Talk also stood out as a potent example of how the law could work for those most vulnerable in society but often doesn’t. Kimberley used her knowledge, privilege and expertise to defend marginalized communities with an emphasis on women in Afghanistan. By using the Afghan tribal council “Jirga” to find alternative solutions to a dispute over a debt that would’ve otherwise been settled with an illegal child marriage.
As we look throughout history, governments have implemented policies and are partially responsible for the denial of human rights to a certain group. These groups include Ukrainians and Rwandans. The denial of human rights in these regions not only affect those in the region but internationally. Both Ukrainians and Rwandans were denied their human rights. Ukraine’s hope and will was in the hands of the dictator Joseph Stalin.
Finally, there are four solutions proffered, Restoring discretionary authority to judges, “Open File” reform, Criminalization and Punishment of deliberate and serious prosecutorial misconduct, and Improved prosecutorial education. “Open File” reform would be the most important solution because it discloses all the information regarding each case. This solution can be loosely associated with Utilitarianism because by keeping an open file only good could come from exposing all parties with the evidence and facts of the
Restorative justice is a sentencing model that builds on restitution and community participation in an attempt to make a victim “whole again” (Schmalleger, 2010). Restorative justice can be explained as a form of punishment, which everyone involved or affected by a crime gets a feeling of peace after all if finalized. Both the victim and the offender have to agree to participate in restorative justice. There are needs that have to be met through restorative justice, which are the victim must be
A common theme among restorative justice (RJ) practices, as a whole, is to hold offenders accountable and empower victims. The sentencing circle, also known as the peacemaking circle, is a community-based practice with the primary goal of determining a suitable punishment that meets the needs of all parties associated with the offense. There are, however, other RJ practices, specifically ones used in cases of intimate family or domestic violence, that are in contract to the sentencing circle. For example, victim-survivor panels are a common RJ practice for victims of domestic or sexual violence. Victims do not face their abuser but rather the attendees are individuals, typically men, responsible for committing similar offenses as those described
Restorative justice is a response to crime in which it allows the victim and the offender to meet face to face and to settle their problems. It allows both parties to unite and to work out their differences and to make the offender responsible for his own actions (Correctional Services Canada, 2015). Offenders have to make amends with the victim or victims because for the crimes and damage they caused to the victim emotionally and physically (Antonacci, 2013).The boys have to be welcomed back into society by doing some good too help the community out and to be seen as changed members of the community. If this option was taken than the boys would have just done some community service such as helping out the hot dog vendor and cleaning up the
There are several old ways of solving crime according to many sources, but restorative justice is a type of rehabilitation process which focuses on repairing, and as the word suggest brings restoration. It rebuilds the lives of individuals who are involve in crime. While crime damages a person life, restorative justice repairs it (Office for Victims of Crime, 2000; Morris and Maxwell, 2001). There are three main stakeholders in a restorative justice process, these are the victims, the offender, and the community, therefore when crime is committed restorative justice sees it as an office against people and not against the state. I believe that in order for restorative justice process to be successful all three parties involve, citizens, victims,
1. There is no agreed upon definition of restorative justice. a. Within the criminal justice community, there has been no consensus on exactly how restorative justice should be defined. As a result, there is also some confusion within the community on whether or not restorative justice should be viewed as an outcome or a process (Daly, 2015) b. Because there is no agreement on the definition, there are multiple definitions. This can also result/create theoretical and policy confusion.