In this episode Arya discusses the post conflict experience of Sierra Leone. She is a student journalist with us on a placement organised by the Oxford University Career Services. This article was edited using the Hemingway Editor.
Building Peace and Transitional Justice in Post-Conflict Communities: Strategies from Sierra Leone
Survival is commonly understood as resistance, especially against the havoc of civil war. After a prolonged one-party autocracy resulted in stark economic disparities and political instability. And a decade-long civil war in Sierra Leone (1991-2002). The country displaced about 2.6 million people. Both internally and across the borders. In addition, to approximately 70,000 murders. After the war ended in 2002. The country was left with remnants of its widespread atrocities. A devastated economy. Wrecked infrastructure. Distrust of the state. And a diverse array of living memories of war. Encompassing amputees, recruited child combatants, sexually enslaved people, and rape victims.
In a society that experiences the devastation of a destructive civil war. The concerns stability. Security. Social healing. Economic recovery. Political restoration. Along with the human needs autonomy, freedom, identity and connection. All they have in common is the attempt to reinstate or rebuild some normality of life. Sierra Leone has been a forerunner in Transitional Justice. Along with its peace building efforts it has gained global recognition. This article does not evaluates the state's presumed success. Nor discusses the contention on the subject. But brings possible insights from Sierra Leone's efforts to transitional justice and peace. In rebuilding society, transitional justice plays a key role. As a mechanism to readdress the injustices and human rights violations during wartime. Along with peacebuilding, it complements the long-term well-being of societies emerging from violence. Thus, ideals of reconciliation, stability, justice, and the rule of law are central to it.
Regional Instruments of Transitional Justice and Peacebuilding
At the national level, the legal structures of the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL), set up in 2002. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) arose out of the Lome Agreement (1999). It intended to serve both retributive and restorative justice. At this point, the core concern was 3 fold. ‘Disarmament, Demobilisation, and Reintegration of Ex-Combatants (DDR)’. This focused on curtailing the risks of possible future aggressions. Post-conflict peacebuilding relied on the surrendering of weapons and ammunition by former combatants. In their case, over 75000 people took part in and received small monetary incentives. SCSL prosecuted and indicted people who committed severe human rights violations. This included leaders of various factions in Sierra Leone. This shaped the public perception of how justice is delivered. When the International Criminal Tribunal facilitated SCSL. The TRC used internal community structures rooted in democratisation. Mainly focusing on ex-combatant reintegration and gender-based violence. The TRC emphasis was to raise awareness and reparation. In its spirit, the TRC is oriented towards nation-building through people’s participation. Regardless of whether they were victims, witnesses or offenders. For child ex-combatants, they proposed institutional reforms, vocational training and community services. The TRC widely promoted opportunities and arenas for educational assistance. Skill development. Vocational training. Micro-loans. Housing. Medical treatment. Agricultural aid. And, community development for citizens. About 9000 testimonies from previous combatants provided an outlet to repeal their wrongdoings and seek forgiveness.
Community based restorative justice (CBRJ)
Sierra Leone tells the story of both prescribed institutional mechanisms for justice. Along with community peacemaking initiatives. Community-based restorative justice (CBRJ) was introduced to bridge the gap in the SCSL-TRC implementation. It brought traditional practices and local language into the ongoing justice restoration. Traditional reintegration is aimed at the reinitiation of both prior combatants and victims of sexual abuse into the community. It was latent to restitution for the former and reclamation of status and dignity to the latter. CRBJ cooperated closely with local NGOs. Such as the Sierra Leone Red Cross, International Rescue Committee and TRC working group. They actively followed local customs of cleansing ceremonies. Truth-telling. Fumigation. Symbolic performances. And, reintegration rituals.
Additionally, the Fambul Tok (‘Family Talk’) programme. Which contained a Mini-Commission with local participation. It is a platform for victim-offender dialogues in community reconciliation.
Day-to-Day Peacebuilding and Restoration of Justice
Vital to the post-conflict reconstruction of lives is the return to 'normality'. Covering the reproduction and navigation of the social world through everyday experiences. According to Laura S. Matin (2016), these continual mechanisms of transitional justice are often overlooked. They operate through economic restoration, agricultural assistance, and religious engagement.
Insurgency and violence from within the familiar circle had destroyed local social networks. This also led to a distrust of the state. Combined physical restoration efforts through support and cooperation recreated this social connection locally. Remittance from relatives, gifts, loans, and monetary assistance ensured economic activities. This sustained subsistence activities like farming. These types of economic activity provided for the various needs of the people. Like providing them with an income. Facilitating social interaction. Promoting belongingness. Along with providing a coping mechanism against the past. The infrastrcuture rebuilding from collective efforts nurtured a sense of community. Collectives such as agricultural associations and cooperative farming activities acted as social and economic support mechanisms. Along with social circles of connection and belongingness. The exchange of resources and emotions is thus imperative to creating social networks for a smooth transition.
Religion served as a mechanism for social integration and emotional comfort in the post-conflict society. A society in which the Muslim and Christian religious practices are intrinsic to life and interactions in Sierra Leone. Forgiveness is widely held as a principle against revenge. Religion was central to Sierra Leonian peace building. Instilling a spiritual awakening regarding hope, love, acceptance, and healing.
Sierra Leone embodies institutional practices and daily construction of transitional justice and peacebuilding. These experiences remind us that transitional justice and peacebuilding should be context-specific. In its search for peace and justice, the country embraced conventional practices. Legitimised legal instruments. Discouraged potential crimes. Supported community participation, and reaffirmed survivors' voices.
Bibliography
Ainley, K. et al. (eds.) (2015) Evaluating transitional justice : accountability and peacebuilding in post-conflict Sierra Leone. [Online]. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. https://eprints.lse.ac.uk/60770/1/__lse.ac.uk_storage_LIBRARY_Secondary_libfile_shared_repository_Content_Ainley%2C%20K_Evaluating%20success_Ainley_Evaluating%20success_2015.pdf
Martin, L. S. (2016) Practicing Normality: An Examination of Unrecognizable Transitional Justice Mechanisms in Post-Conflict Sierra Leone. Journal of intervention and statebuilding. [Online] 10 (3), 400–418. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17502977.2016.1199480
Martin, L. S. (2023) “Navigating Violence, Peace and Justice: Conflict and Post-Conflict Experiences in Sierra Leone,” in Navigating Local Transitional Justice: Agency at Work in Post-Conflict Sierra Leone. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (African Studies), pp. 32–67. doi: 10.1017/9781009281058.002
Martin, L. S. (2023) “Unrecognized Mechanisms, Normality and Everyday Realities in Transition,” in Navigating Local Transitional Justice: Agency at Work in Post-Conflict Sierra Leone. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (African Studies), pp. 134–157. doi: 10.1017/9781009281058.005
Millar, G., 2011. Local evaluations of justice through truth telling in Sierra Leone: Postwar needs and transitional justice. Human Rights Review, 12(4), pp.515-535.
Park, A. S. J. (2010) Community-based restorative transitional justice in Sierra Leone. Contemporary justice review : CJR. [Online] 13 (1), 95–119. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/citedby/10.1080/10282580903343134?scroll=top&needAccess=true
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