The RLP has undertaken a national conflict-mapping exercise called the National Reconciliation and Transitional Justice Audit, which aims to document ‘all major current and past conflicts and their legacies in Uganda’. The objectives of the Audit are as follows:

• To document from a community perspective all the post-independence  armed conflicts in Uganda; and

• To identify and assess the outstanding reconciliation and transitional justice needs related to each of these conflicts.

The Audit emerged out of the conclusion of Phase I the Beyond Juba process, and according to RLP, ‘intends to clarify the transitional justice terrain in Uganda’ that will be addressed in Beyond Juba Phase II. It will also contribute to the ‘ongoing Justice Law and Order (JLOS) transitional justice policy development process and seeks to inform government and development partners programs related to transitional justice and peace-building in Uganda’.

For more information about the Audit and to read the briefing notes compiled from the districts where documentation has already begun, click here.

Date: Wednesday, 23^rd May 2012
Time: 10h30 – 14h00
Venue: Hotel on the Park, 296 Essenwood Road, Berea, Durban

Please RSVP to Nondumiso by Friday, 18 May 2012 at rsvp@ddpdurban.org.za.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Each one of us must help the miracle happen

MANY South Africans are feeling a profound sense of anxiety – and, increasingly, disillusionment – over the moral and spiritual wellbeing of the nation.

It seems that every time one picks up a newspaper or switches on the television, there are new stories of corruption in government, of nasty competitiveness for leadership positions in the ruling party, of a crisis in education, of so-called service-delivery protests that regularly turn destructive, of the most horrendous incidents of violent crime.

And, instead of narrowing the gap between rich and poor, we have allowed it to become a dangerously yawning chasm.

Most alarmingly, we have evolved over the 18 years of our democracy from an organised nation of activists for social change – for common good – to a nation apparently preoccupied with the accumulation of personal wealth.

In 1994, when we all voted for the first time, we hung up our activist T-shirts and ceded total responsibility for our lives to our newly elected government. Then we folded our arms and waited for the miracle of better lives to be bestowed on us, a nation of passive recipients awaiting government largesse. When it isn’t forthcoming, we organise service-delivery protests.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with criticising the government where criticism is due, but we equally need to look deep inside ourselves – each one of us – and ask what we can contribute to creating a better society.

What can we do to hold the government accountable for its spending? But also, what can we do, as an active and organised citizenry, to improve conditions ourselves? Surely it’s possible for parent bodies to get together for one day every year to paint and spruce up our children’s schools. Surely our church congregations and our community-based organisations should be sufficiently active to be able to avoid most preventable deaths of infants. Surely if we took responsibility, we’d be able to reduce our terrible road-accident rate. If we raised our children with decent values, surely incidents such as the gang rape of the apparently mentally impaired teenage girl in Soweto 10 days ago could never have happened.

It starts within us, with the recognition that we do not live in a vacuum. Each one of us is a constituent part of a greater organism: our community, our country, our continent, our world.

more…

Required skills:

• Strong research experience;
• excellent writing skills;
• proficiency in Word, Excel and PowerPoint (SPSS an added advantage);
• ability to work independently and with attention to detail, and
• competency in an African language other than English and Afrikaans would be an added advantage.

Responsibilities:

• Research assistance;
• statistical and qualitative data analysis;
• writing short articles and research briefs for the Inclusive Economies and SA Reconciliation Barometer projects, and
• logistical and administrative support to programme staff.

Educational requirements/skills:

Applicants should be in possession of, or in the process of completing a postgraduate degree in Political Studies, Public Administration, Development Studies, or a related discipline.

Documents required for application:

Please submit a cover letter, along with your CV (including three contactable referees) and an example of a short essay or research paper (1000 words maximum) to Ms. Margo Newman – mnewman@ijr.org.za.

Closing Date: 2012-04-26

Other Info:

An initial three-month contract will be offered, with the possibility of renewal. Applicants from South Africa and other African countries are encouraged to apply.

Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

The Cape race debate: All a-Twitter Yazeed Kamaldien

The Cape race debate: In denial? Kenneth Lukuko

Mulder and Mantashe: ‘Whites’ vs ‘Africans’ Christi van der Westhuizen

Are they proud? Kopano Matlwa Mabaso

Racial categorisation in South African social science Eduard Grebe

Redress and the race weapon Stan Henkeman

You can also download the full newsletter here.

On March 23, the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) appointed Pablo de Greiff as the first-ever Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence. De Greiff is a Colombian national and is currently the New York-based director of research at the International Centre for Transitional Justice. His tenure as special rapporteur begins on May 1.

Like countless other organisations working towards post-conflict peace and development in Africa and elsewhere, the South African Institute for Justice and Reconciliation (IJR) welcomes the creation of the mandate to establish accountability for serious crimes. And we hail De Greiff’s appointment in this important position. It is hoped that this development will significantly enhance the visibility of transitional-justice issues within the HRC and the UN system at large.

But what does the mandate of this independent expert mean for the victims of Africa’s seemingly endless conflicts? And how can civil society engage with him? These and other questions were explored at an in-depth two-day IJR consultation held recently with some of the continent’s leading voices working on transitional-justice issues in IJR’s target countries, namely Zimbabwe, Kenya, the DRC, Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan and Uganda.

Titled “African Perspectives on the Appointment and Mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Promotion of Truth, Justice, Reparation and Guarantees of Non-Recurrence”, the event sought to solicit the expectations and needs of African civil-society organisations, governments and intergovernmental agencies, working in the field of justice and reconciliation in Africa, on the mandate of the special rapporteur. A comprehensive report of the event is forthcoming.

“Special procedures” is the general name given to the mechanisms established by the HRC to conduct fact-finding and/or monitoring into specific human-rights situations in all parts of the world. Currently, there are 33 thematic and eight country mandates. Mandate-holders (individuals or groups) serve in their personal capacity, are independent — that is, not UN staff — and are unpaid. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights provides them with some personnel, policy, research and logistical support for the discharge of their mandates.

The functions of this particular special rapporteur will include addressing gross violations of human rights and serious violations of international law through the gathering of relevant information relating to the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence, and to make recommendations to affected stakeholders on potential responses and remedial interventions. The resolution that established the position specifies the need for a gendered perspective and a victim-centred approach to be integrated throughout the fulfilment of the mandate. All Special Rapporteurs are guided by a strict code of conduct and are requested to report annually to the HRC and the UN General Assembly.

The authors of the resolution took care to emphasise that the special rapporteur should not take a one-sided approach to transitional justice. The mandate emphasises “the importance of a comprehensive approach incorporating the full range of judicial and non-judicial measures, including, among others, individual prosecutions, reparations, truth-seeking, institutional reform, vetting of public employees and officials, or an appropriately conceived combination thereof, in order to, inter alia, ensure accountability, serve justice, provide remedies to victims, promote healing and reconciliation, establish independent oversight of the security system and restore confidence in the institutions of the state and promote the rule of law in accordance with international human rights law”.

This all is a seemingly huge amount of work for just one person. Given that the role is voluntary and unpaid, it requires a substantial time commitment as well as constant readiness to respond to urgent situations as and when they emerge. This includes two to three official country visits per year on the basis of requests to and by governments grappling with their own transitional-justice situations. Such visits may also include meetings with NGOs, victims, traditional leaders and so on (bearing in mind that resources are very limited).

As such, civil society can and should play a vital role in relation to the special rapporteur. As explained by one participant with extensive experience in this field, “the mandate holder will play the role that you [civil society] enable the mandate holder to play”. Feeding the special rapporteur with succinct, reliable and accurate information on urgent matters relating to the mandate is one important function civil society can take on. Raising awareness about the special rapporteur and the relevant mandate as well as how it translates into reality is equally important in order to ensure increased participation in the broader process.

Information on urgent developments in the realm of truth, justice, reparations and non-recurrence can be submitted by alleged victims (or anyone on their behalf), by NGOs and other partners such as UN agencies, funds and programmes, trade unions, professional associations, and so forth. The special rapporteur will then process and analyse this information and, if the issue is deemed serious enough, will take the matter up with the relevant government and other stakeholders. Also, the special rapporteur is at liberty to attend activities organised by civil society to raise awareness about the respective mandates, and create and strengthen partnerships.

During country presentations at the IJR consultation, it became evident just how many of the African countries represented face urgent transitional-justice challenges. Presentations highlighted the need for truth-telling mechanisms in Zimbabwe and Burundi, an end to impunity in the DRC, the need for reparations in Uganda and Rwanda, and the pursuit of justice and accountability in all countries represented.

South Sudan, where the conversation about transitional justice remains severely obstructed by continued fighting between north and south, incomplete disarmament processes and severe infrastructure and governance challenges, has the potential to dominate this mandate entirely. Add to this the burning transitional-justice challenges that face Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and, in due course, Syria — never mind similarly urgent situations in the rest of the world.

This is no small task. Now more than ever, civil society organisations need to pull together to ensure that efficient collaboration directly impacts this mandate holder’s ability to achieve justice and reconciliation for communities affected by human rights violations.

Friederike Bubenzer is the Acting Head of the Justice and Reconciliation in Africa Programme at the  IJR.