http://www.restorativejustice.org These are the search results for the query, showing results 1 to 15. http://www.restorativejustice.org/RJOB/mandelas-children from Alexandra Fuller's feature article in National Geographic Magazine: Coetzee does not talk about his childhood. He speaks about the planning that went into the bombing, how he was chosen for his excellent military skills, the years he has spent in prison. He asks for their questions, and the group responds. How did he learn to hate black people? How did he unlearn this hatred? How does he spend his days now? Is he sorry? And if he is so sorry, what can he give them? Coetzee admits he has nothing material to give the world except the leather belt that holds up his overalls. But, he says, God willing, if he gets out of jail, he can begin to attempt to compensate for what he has done. "There are children now in South Africa," he says, "children without parents. They might be tempted to get into violent gangs, to follow anger instead of love." He says, "I can show them that the first life you have to change is your own." No publisher dvanness Story Region: Africa National Reconciliation Country:South Africa 2010-08-24T11:03:44Z News Item http://www.restorativejustice.org/RJOB/recentadditions31july The Restorative Justice Online research database holds just over 9900 entries. This listing shows the entries made over the last several weeks. No publisher lparker 2010-07-31T14:49:49Z News Item http://www.restorativejustice.org/RJOB/request-for-assistance-regarding-a-south-african-case from Ann Skelton: Mike Batley and I are currently working on a Constitutional Court case in South Africa in which we are arguing that the civil justice system has not kept pace with developments in the criminal justice system to encourage more restorative justice approaches. The case in point is a civil claim for damages for defamation of character by a school teacher against school pupils who manufactured a naughty (but funny from an adolescent perspective) picture of him by pasting his head on the body of a gay wrestler. The picture was on the school notice board for 30 minutes, and some children in the school also received the image via their cell phones. The children were punished in school (5 detentions + honours colours taken away), were charged criminally and were diverted (they completed 56 hours of community service at the zoo), they attempted to apologise, and have now been successfully sued through the civil justice system to pay damages. They now appeal to the Constitutional Court. Their main arguments have to do with Freedom of expression and 'jest' as a defence, but the Restorative Justice Centre is entering as amicus curiae to make various points about restorative justice. No publisher dvanness Juvenile Practice Country:South Africa 2010-07-25T20:47:48Z News Item http://www.restorativejustice.org/RJOB/panama By Lynette Parker Although the authority to use mediation in responding to certain crimes first appeared in Panamanian regulations in 1995, such alternatives continue be underutilised by justice system personnel. Subsequent legislation and policies developed by the Ministerio Público have sought to strengthen mediation including the creation of alternative dispute resolution centres in different parts of the country. In 2009, the government put out a request for proposals for consultants to assist with promoting penal mediation throughout the country. The Centro de Conciliación y Arbitraje (Centro) of the Cámara de Comercio, Industrias y Agricultura of Panama won the contract for the project for the development of a system of alternative conflict resolution. In doing so, the Centro contracted Prison Fellowship Panama as consultants on the project. From 28 June thru 1 July, I had the honour and pleasure to work with representatives from both organisations in a series of awareness raising seminars for justice system personnel. No publisher lparker Region: Latin America Country:Panama Correspondent:Lynette Parker 2010-07-04T21:28:46Z News Item http://www.restorativejustice.org/RJOB/IJR%20AP%20Fellows%20OP3%20Sudan.pdf [from the Introduction] This paper discusses the experiences of South Sudanese women in this new time of peace. By exploring women’s agency and victimisation during the war, the paper argues that the current celebrated liberation and peace, while it has been successful in transforming class identity, has failed to transform gender identity, allowing violations against women to continue unchecked. This paper challenges and questions the concepts of identity and liberation in the current peace from a gendered perspective, and asks what the concepts ‘peace’, ‘identity’ and ‘liberation’ mean for women in contemporary South Sudan. The paper argues that the CPA has failed to play a role in improving the situation for women. It explores the way in which customary law, which is protected by the CPA, continues to perpetuate gender inequality. No publisher dvanness National Reconciliation 2010-05-17T15:42:34Z File http://www.restorativejustice.org/RJOB/IJR%20AP%20Monograph%201%20Zimbabwe.pdf (author's abstract) The purpose of this paper is to critically examine issues concerning transitional justice in Zimbabwe after a decade of politically motivated intra-conflicts. The Zimbabwean case highlights the importance of critically examining the relevance of instituting transitional justice systems with a view to making informed choices about achieving a balance between comprehensive processes of restorative justice and retributive justice systems. The paper argues that whatever form of transitional justice is chosen, there is need for a clear and credible account of the past involving acknowledgement for past violations as a process of facilitating individual and national healing and reconciliation. The paper further argues that it is only after truth-seeking initiatives have taken place, that willingness to seek justice based on people’s understandings of what happened to them can be achieved. Thus, it is important that the state takes concrete policy actions to demonstrate a break with the past and build a future based on respect for human rights and rule of law. No publisher dvanness Country:Zimbabwe National Reconciliation 2010-05-17T15:27:20Z File http://www.restorativejustice.org/RJOB/IJR%20AP%20OP%201%20Liberia%20TRC.pdf This paper reviews the causes of the conflict, the political settlement that was eventually arrived at in order to bring the conflict to an end as well as the nature of the major transitional justice mechanism that was implemented along with its implications for sustainable peace in Liberia. Because of prolonged instability in Liberia, this study is important in determining how transitional justice has contributed to developing and sustaining a security architecture for the country, that will ensure lasting peace and stability. More importantly, as the subregion and the continent grapple with violence and insecurity, the discourse on appropriate and effective justice and security architectures becomes very important. While there are interesting experiences across the continent, different approaches have prevailed. The experience of Liberia presents important comparative knowledge that could contribute to this quest for effective justice and security mechanisms. (from the introduction) No publisher dvanness Country:Liberia National Reconciliation 2010-05-17T15:01:03Z File http://www.restorativejustice.org/RJOB/nochildoffenderleftbehind From the article by Glynnis Underhill in the Mail and Guardian Online: South Africa had finally fallen in line with the trend of most other countries, including several in Africa, which, for many years, have had separate laws dealing with child offenders. "The Child Justice Act is new. In South African law we have never previously had a separate law that sets out how to deal with child offenders," said Ann Skelton, director of the Centre for Child Law at the University of Pretoria and an authority on the subject. "We have previously had to make do with the Criminal Procedure Act, which is the general criminal justice system for all offenders." The Child Justice Act has established a criminal justice system for minors that expands on and entrenches the principles of restorative justice in the criminal justice system, Skelton said. It ensures children's responsibility and accountability for crimes they have committed. Skelton applauded the Act for placing an increased emphasis on the effective rehabilitation and reintegration of children to minimise the risk of them reoffending. No publisher lparker Juvenile Government Region: Africa Country:South Africa 2010-04-26T15:46:15Z News Item http://www.restorativejustice.org/RJOB/moreuncongress Day two at the 12th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice didn’t yield as many comments of restorative justice, but there were some interesting statements made especially by the delegates from South Africa and Peru. On 13 April, the Plenary continued its discussion on Children, Youth, and Crime with more member states as well as non-governmental organisations and independent experts. No publisher lparker Juvenile Country:Peru Country:South Africa Region: Africa Region: Latin America Correspondent:Lynette Parker United Nations 2010-04-14T11:33:44Z News Item http://www.restorativejustice.org/RJOB/restorative-justice-offers-a-better-way-to-cope-with-crime from Gordon Bazemore's post on SCOPE Blog: If asked to define “justice,” most Americans use words such as fairness, similar or equal treatment, absence of discrimination, enlightenment, due process and equal opportunity. Yet, when asked what is meant when we hear that someone has been “brought to justice,” Americans inevitably think first of punishment — often severe punishment — that must serve as retribution for wrongdoing. We know that justice is a larger concept than punishment, yet we are mostly aware of a very limited set of choices about what justice means in response to crime. It has been said that Americans are addicted to punishment. But it is more accurate to say that this addiction is characteristic of policymakers who run on “get tough on crime” platforms that seem to thrive on retribution. Crime makes us angry and afraid, but a number of surveys have shown that most of us want accountability for crimes rather than simply retribution. Of greatest concern is the fact that retributive justice is inherently offender-focused — leaving crime victims on the sidelines of the justice process. No publisher dvanness Policy Politics Region: North America and Caribbean Country:USA 2010-04-07T15:26:49Z News Item http://www.restorativejustice.org/RJOB/amnesty-and-justice-in-afghanistan-a-nose-made-of-dough from Aziz Hakimi's article on opendemocracy.net: British newspapers including The Guardian recently reported that a controversial amnesty law, approved by Afghanistan parliament, is being brought into force without having been announced in the weeks leading up to the London Conference on Afghanistan. The amnesty precludes prosecution for war crimes committed in conflicts during previous decades. The amnesty law, under the title of the “national peace and reconciliation charter”, was shelved for almost two years after being passed by a small majority in January 2007 by both the Afghan house of representatives and the senate. Although Afghan President Hamid Karzai was reported to have approved the law in March 2007, hailing it as “Parliament’s initiative for strengthening peace in Afghanistan”, the fate of the law remained unclear until recently, with no reference to it in the Afghan Law Gazette. No publisher dvanness Country:Afghanistan National Reconciliation Restitution 2010-03-02T11:59:33Z News Item http://www.restorativejustice.org/RJOB/restorative-justice-a-travelogue-1 from Ryan Hollon's entry on Dr. Pop Blog: I was heading to South Africa as part of a restorative justice delegation from the Windy City. Our group brought with it a diverse history of activism, action, and hustling for change. Some of the delegates were working to transform the disciplinary culture of the public school system, others were community leaders deeply rooted in neighborhood life, several had been working for decades to reform the ways our society responds to domestic violence, and many in the group had dedicated their lives to working with young people to shift power in their communities. All of us were practitioners of conflict resolution methods like peace circles, and all of us shared a basic belief in the power of groups to come together to address difficult issues, to deal with the conflicting forces in our lives. No publisher dvanness Limitations Support Practice 2010-02-22T20:33:58Z News Item http://www.restorativejustice.org/RJOB/restorative-justice-a-travelogue from Ryan Hollon's entry on Dr. Pop Blog: I was heading to South Africa as part of a restorative justice delegation from the Windy City. Our group brought with it a diverse history of activism, action, and hustling for change. Some of the delegates were working to transform the disciplinary culture of the public school system, others were community leaders deeply rooted in neighborhood life, several had been working for decades to reform the ways our society responds to domestic violence, and many in the group had dedicated their lives to working with young people to shift power in their communities. All of us were practitioners of conflict resolution methods like peace circles, and all of us shared a basic belief in the power of groups to come together to address difficult issues, to deal with the conflicting forces in our lives. No publisher dvanness Limitations Support Practice 2010-02-22T20:31:50Z News Item http://www.restorativejustice.org/RJOB/greensboro-redux from Chester Hartman's blog entry on The Huffington Post: It's wonderful to see the coverage of the 50th anniversary event at the Smithsonian commemorating the first sit-in, at the Greensboro, North Carolina Woolworth's by those four brave, imaginative N.C. A&T freshmen. A portion of that historic lunch counter is now at the American History Museum in DC, and the store itself just opened as the new International Civil Rights Center & Museum. But the coverage ignored a subsequent Greensboro civil rights event of possibly comparable future importance: Creation of our nation's first Truth and Reconciliation Commission. No publisher dvanness National Reconciliation 2010-02-08T22:10:19Z News Item http://www.restorativejustice.org/RJOB/rjjonline30jan New additions to the RJ Online research database over the last week covered several issues related to transitional justice as well as social work and schools. No publisher lparker 2010-01-30T16:02:21Z News Item