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African women mobilize to build peace
from the article by Yvette Moore on United Methodist Women:
….Women from Mozambique described ways they are working to create a culture of peace in their country after years of war.
“Since the signing of the peace agreement in 1992, we can live in peace,” Rute Uthui of United Methodist Women of Mozambique said through an interpreter. “In the church since last year we always talk about peace and the maintaining of peace on the radio and in the news. Our women’s group meets every Thursday, and we never walk out without talking about peace and what we can do to maintain it.
"We are facing now criminality. When those people are caught, some want to beat them, but we say, talk to them—punish them according to what they’ve done—but not the violence, talk to them about peace.”
Apr 08, 2013 Country:Mozambique, Region: Africa, National Reconciliation
Restorative justice: The long struggle
from the article by Donald Shriver in Tikkun:
….Large, organized, collective interests are at odds with the future of restorative justice: unions of prison guards, economic benefits to communities from prisons, and then—perhaps the most difficult injustice of all—historical crimes whose legacies subject whole groups of people to continuing injustice. Like the Maori, indigenous peoples in the United States and Canada are waiting for healings that exceed any form of individual therapy for crime’s victims and offenders: the land stolen by European colonists from the indigenous, the treaties broken, the genocide, intended or not, that devastated them. Perhaps, speculates Elster, the restorative experience of individuals in procedures like family group conferences and victim compensations will prepare people to see their duties to work as citizens for restorative remedies for these huge historical injustices.
Mar 21, 2013 National Reconciliation
Restorative approaches in local conflicts of Northern Ireland
from the report by Tim Chapman, Derick Wilson and Hugh Campbell for ALTERNATIVE:
….While many people in Northern Ireland encounter each other through their employment, through shopping and through their social life, most people live in neighbourhoods that are predominantly made up of Protestants or Catholics. The many community relations projects throughout the country offer opportunities for people of different identities to meet and share their experiences. These are voluntary programmes and may not attract those most antagonistic towards the „other‟ and most engaged in violence. Those who are arrested for violence or hate crime will be dealt with by the criminal justice system and are unlikely to engage with their victims unless they are under the age of 18 or are referred to a community based restorative project.
Jan 31, 2013 Region: Europe, National Reconciliation, Country:Northern Ireland
The gods are angry
from the article by George Ayittey in the Wall Street Journal:
....There are more than 2,000 African ethnic groups but despite the incredible diversity there are striking commonalities among them. Whereas Western jurisprudence emphasizes punishing the guilty, the widespread African tradition stresses restitution and reconciliation or "restorative justice"—the basis of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commissions established after the dismantling of Apartheid.
Africa's economic heritage featured free village markets. There were rudimentary free markets in Timbuktu, Kano, Salaga, Onitsa, Mombasa and elsewhere before the advent of the colonial era.
Whereas the West practiced majoritarian, or representative, democracy, ancient Africans practiced participatory democracy, where decisions were taken by consensus at village meetings variously called asetena kese by the Ashanti, ama-ala by the Igbo, guurti by the Somali, dare by the Shona, ndaba by the Zulu or kgotla by the Tswana.
Nov 19, 2012 Region: Africa, National Reconciliation, Indigenous
How does healing happen?
from the column by Paula Palmer and Aya Medrud in Daily Camera:
The Restorative Justice movement teaches us that everyone involved in a crime or injustice (victims, perpetrators, and the community of people whose lives are touched and altered) needs healing and must participate in the healing process.
This year, the One Action One Boulder project has pointed to a gaping wound in the Boulder Valley, a wound that goes back 150 years. We do not like to think about it because it makes good people feel bad. Still, it is undeniable: we live on land stolen from the Arapaho and Cheyenne peoples, and we are all unconscious beneficiaries of the swindle. Our community needs healing. In the coming Thanksgiving season we have an important opportunity.
Nov 16, 2012 Region: North America and Caribbean, National Reconciliation, Country:USA
Central America: Promoting restorative justice
from the article by Rhegan Hyypio on Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns:
....Despite increased requests for alternative initiatives to curb violence and crime (for instance, see the Caravan for Peace, September-October 2012 NewsNotes), the U.S. continues to spend hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid to Latin America, which often promotes a dysfunctional system.
Lisa Haugaard, director of the Latin America Working Group, testified to the U.S. Congress in September: "[It] is essential that the United States not encourage militaries to take over roles that are more appropriate for police forces … In both Central America and Mexico, we are concerned that the U.S. government has either encouraged or tacitly supported inappropriate roles for the military ... Even though we all know that police are often too weak, corrupt, or abusive, it is a short-term and shortsighted solution to place military in police roles, and it can lead to more abuses. And military-style responses to law enforcement problems—whether or not they are carried out by military forces—can lead to serious human rights abuses."
Nov 15, 2012 Region: Latin America, National Reconciliation
Girl's death 24 years ago haunts quest for justice in reformist Myanmar
from the article by Andrew R.C. Marshall on Reuters:
....The authorities haven't forgotten either. Political reform in Myanmar is fostering greater openness about past atrocities but little accountability, especially when the country's still-powerful military is involved. Today, Win Maw Oo's impoverished and long-suffering family remains under police surveillance.
Oct 09, 2012 Region: Asia, National Reconciliation, Country:Myanmar
Transitional justice in the shadow of the Arab Spring
from the article by Sarah Khatib on Muftah:
Whether recovering from the horrific realities of war or the effects of long-standing repressive regimes, societies often find themselves attempting to reconcile their past while safeguarding a better future.
Since the end of World War II, this struggle has become an increasingly important feature of the political transitions undertaken by post-conflict countries.
Sep 20, 2012 Region:Middle East, National Reconciliation
Gacaca: A successful experiment in restorative justice?
from the article by Charlotte Clapham on e-International Relations:
....The twofold reparative function of restorative justice is, however, crucial and so the extent to which gacaca’s emphasis on ‘truth-telling’ realised its desired outcome is subject to debate. To draw on Johnstone’s conception of restorative justice once again, the fact that gacaca failed to offer something positive, in the form of compensation, to meet the needs of the victims meant part of its reparative function was undermined.
Aug 16, 2012 Limitations, Theory, Country:Rwanda, National Reconciliation, Indigenous, Region: Africa
At last, truth and reconciliation for Maine's Indian Adoption Project legacies
from the article on ICTJ.org:
Friday, June 29, was both a "great day and a sad day" for the US state of Maine, in the words of its governor, Paul LePage.
It was a great day because Maine was taking an historic step to address the legacies of the 1950's and 60's Indian Adoption Project, a program which removed hundreds of Native American children from their families and tribes and placed them in the state-run foster care system.
Aug 07, 2012 National Reconciliation, Country:USA
