March 31: Reconciliation Efforts

Hayner: Negotiating Justice (in Darby and Mac Ginty. 2008. Contemporary Peacemaking 2nd ed. Pg. 328-338)

This chapter was about the idea of incorporating justice into peace agreements. The author talked about the field of "transitional justice" which involves bringing justice to groups who have recently been through violent conflict - they are transitioning to a more stable society. There are several ways of incorporating justice into peace accords: 1. Non-judicial truth-seeking (Truth commisions), 2. Reparations (Compensation for past abuses), 3. International, hybrid, and national courts (setting up a hybrid or an international court may be more likely to be part of an effort of the national government at attaining justice than a part of a peace accord), 4. Vetting and reform of the armed forces (Looking at histories of human rights abuses when selecting post-war security forces). The main concept that was addressed was that of amnesty and whether or not it can or should be added to peace agreements. If amnesty is added to a peace agreement, there are deeper questions that must be addressed. For example, Who should the amnesty apply to? and Will the amnesty be upheld internationally? The author gave outlines for cases in Liberia and Sierra Leone that involved peace agreements and discussed the potential efficacy of involving justice in negotiations.
This chapter reminded me of the movie on truth commissions that we watched in class. It talked about the possibility of using a truth commission as a way to bring about transitional justice. The author, like the narrator of the movie, noted that each situation was different and that individual settings called for different actions. It was interesting to read about the impact the international community can have on issues of justice. It seems like modernization and globalization has changed the way peace is negotiated. Although being watched over by the international community may make negotiation more difficult, it also holds the leaders of groups involved in conflict and in the peace process more accountable. Also, the presence of the international community can give support for the peace process (i.e. international or hybrid courts).