Transitional Justice: Strengths and Limitations

All humans deserve human rights; but yet, some humans are still mistreated by their governments, military, and/or political leaders. It is often a neglect of duty when countries take away a person’s rights to live freely and peacefully. Unfortunately, not everyone sees the importance of human rights, and sometimes power gets in the way of making this change global.

Transitional justice has many strengths and limitations. Its strengths are the effort people put behind it, the acknowledgment of past wrong doings, the restitution paid for harms, and the apologies made. When behavior is truly changed, and transitional justice is able to play a role in allowing trust to be rebuilt, then there is success. Unfortunately, success does not always exist. Sometimes reparations are promised and never made. Other times there is no true apology or acceptance of harms. And sometimes criminals are not ever prosecuted. Another difficulty when dealing with transitional justice is the lack of measurement techniques to determine the effects of programs. In the article, “Key Debates & Implementation Challenges” it stated that “The study also concludes that at present the existing empirical evidence does not enable policy-makers to make empirically informed decisions about ‘when, where and how to promote transitional justice.’" Therefore, this causes many questions about the techniques that should be utilized and whether or not they will help the community. In addition, there is no way to know if the victims were helped.

Post-conflict countries can have more accessibility to transitional justice techniques through education. If these countries are able to be educated on the statistics of what transitional justice techniques help for what type of atrocities, I believe that it would be easier to implement them. The first step is to do more research on what the causes and effects are. Surveys would be very helpful in finding out if the victim feels like the technique was successful or not. In _Transitional Justice in Balance: Comparing Processes, Weighing Efficacy_ by Tricia Olsen (2010) she determined that using a plethora of techniques is more helpful than choosing only one (146). I believe with this knowledge, education, and research more countries can be helped and transitional justice techniques can be spread to the places that need them the most.

My perspective on justice and human rights changed the most over the semester through the online Human Rights game “Against all odds”. I knew that people were often mistreated, and I had learned about things like slavery and the holocaust. Yet, sometimes it is difficult to put yourself in a human rights victim’s shoes. I was actually able to see how: being abused by the police, questioned constantly, and trying to escape felt. I left behind family and friends, only to reach America to be mistreated. Over the semester this had the largest impact on me because I never forgot the experience.

Overall, transitional justice can be spread. It can also be improved through better understanding. Everyone deserves human rights and the protection under the law. When places fail to give people the human rights they deserve, there has to be an attempt to restore the peace that was so unjustly taken away.

REFERENCES

Grzyb, A. (Producer). (2010). What is transitional justice. [Web]. Retrieved from http://atwestern.typepad.com/transitionaljustice/

Olsen, T, Payne, L, & Reiter, A. (2010). Transitional justice in balance: comparing processes, weighing efficacy. Washington DC: United States Institute of Peace Press.

40 Acres and a Mule

Beginning in the 1500’s Africans were being involuntary taken from their homes and families to different nations to live as slaves. Eventually, about 6% of those Africans made it to America (Anonymous). These human beings were bided on, and sold into a life of enslavement. They were frequently separated from their families, raped, killed, beaten, and not given human rights. Slaves were ultimately considered property instead of people. In 1865 the House passed the 13th amendment making it illegal to own slaves except through legal penalty for misconduct (National). Yet, the consequences of slavery continue to live on.

“Reparations in Theory and Practice” by Lisa Magarrell describes reparations as, “essential to any transitional justice initiative. This is in part because, out of all the dimensions of transitional justice, reparations focus most directly and explicitly on the victims’ situation, as it seeks to provide some repair for rights that have been trampled, for harms suffered, for indignities endured” (p. 1). The attempted reparation when slavery was dissolved in America was a promise of 40 acres and a mule to every past slave; land in both Georgia and Carolina were kept for that specific purpose (NPR). The effort would have been a collective effort for all slaves to receive reparation. As Magarrell states, collective reparation programs are focused on groups that have been harmed from “human right violations” (p. 5). There were no administrative programs offered to help the next generations of slave decedents. Gen. William Sherman was supposed to administer the 40 acres and the mule, but no policy, outlining the specific victims was ever drawn up: defining the exact harm or extent of harm that took place. The benefits would attempt to be both material and symbolic in that they would both compensate, but point out the harms of a people. The 13th amendment was the first step in restoring justice, the promise for land, and finally the apology by the senate “150 years after the start of the civil war” (Becker).

The limitations of 40 acres and a Mule was that it was offering monetary damages prior to symbolic compensation. At the time of the 13th amendment, there was no real apology for the harms suffered. Without complete acceptance of responsibility, the reparation promise did not hold true. Eventually, the government decided to go back on their promise of reparations.

In “Indigenous Peoples and Reparations Claims: Tentative Steps in Peru and Guatemala” Rubio-Marín described the limitations in the reparation efforts of Peru. Reparations from the CVR were postponed to the Asháninkas and those living in the Andean mountains because of the lack of a proper registry (Rubio- Marín, p. 2). I believe that the same limitations happen nationally and internationally. Victims need compensation quickly, while it takes time to repair what has already been damaged. It is also difficult to make sure the proper reparations have been set forth. That is when groups like the TFV are needed. The TFV is a program that has been operating since 2002, monitoring the payment of reparations. Unfortunately, when slavery was abolished there was no such groups, and therefore, there was no one to make sure the promises made were upheld (TFV).

Unfortunately, the attempted reparation by the US for American slavery is often considered unsuccessful. Because 40 acres and a mule was promised but not given, trust was never rebuilt. It has been so long, there is trouble in figuring out what people should be held responsible, and what people should be considered “victims” (NPR). Legally, corporations that once profited from American slaves should be held liable, but who would they pay reparation to? The National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America has debated and continues their debate on reparations still unpaid to slaves’ descendants. Many people considered the apology made by the Senate belated, and said it lacked the necessary restitutions owed (Becker).

IMAGE REFERENCES
These images were taken by me at a Plantation in Louisiana. One photo is of the main home, and the other is of the slave home. The slave homes often held more than 2-3 families per home. There is no furniture in the slave housing; they often slept on the porch.

REFERENCES

Anonymous. (n.d.). Slavery in the united states. Retrieved from http://eh.net/encyclopedia/article/wahl.slavery.us

Becker, B. (2009). Senate approves slavery apology, with reparations disclaimer. Retrieved from http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/18/senate-approves-slavery-apology-with-reparations-disclaimer/

Magarrell, L. (2005). Reparations in theory and practice1. International Center for Transitional Justice, 1-15.

NPR. (2011). Making amends debate continues over reparations for u.s. slavery. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/programs/specials/racism/010827.reparations.html

National Archives. 13th amendment to the u.s. constitution: abolition of slavery. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.archives.gov/historical-docs/document.html?doc=9&title.raw=13th%20Amendment%20to%20the%20U.S.%20Constitution%3A%20Abolition%20of%20Slavery

Rubio-Marín, R, Bailey, C, & Guillerot, J. (2009). Indigenous peoples and reparations claims: tentative steps in peru and guatemala. International Center for Transitional Justice, 1-4.

TFV. (n.d.). The trust fund for victims. Retrieved from http://trustfundforvictims.org/homepage

Letter from Hamas

Dear Victim,

I am writing this letter to you, though I know you have passed away and you are now sitting with Allah. I am writing this letter so that you know my intentions. I did not want this nor ask for this. I know you were just playing when you were hit by an explosion. I understand that I do not reject to this resistance. Yet, you must know that you are a casualty of war, and I never intended it to be you.

I became involved in your experience because I am the leader of this country. I run the government that is supposed to protect its children. Though, I am not the one who has oppressed your family, and killed you, I feel sadness in the fact that I cannot protect you. Everything here has gotten so out of control. And so many people believe in the resistance it would be political suicide for me to stand up against it, especially when I believe in resistance, and have formulated my power off of resistance. I hope you understand because I once was too like you: just a boy with a dream.

I have taken this stance because the truth is there are too many conflicting opinions. I do not stop my soldiers from attacking those standing out against my regime because they are trying to hurt my career. I do not allow street vendors on the street because I have to show my power to the people. I choose to not allow people to pray in the street because they are doing it to lessen that power, to stand up against me, not to stand up for Allah. I allow resistance to fight and kill because even though they do not follow my commands, they are not against me or what I represent. I have bigger things to worry about and focus on, like trying to create policies that the people will hear, agree with, and listen to.

I hope to lead this country to a place where there is no resistance to the government. Where there is no Fatah. I hope to make it so that people just listen, carry out my orders, and innocent children do not die. I hope that we become the highest power in the world, and where others do not step out and mock neither our existence, nor our faithfulness for Allah.

With me in power we can work towards justice: a peace in our communities, where people are able to understand what I am attempting to do. If people would just listen, this violence can stop and we could all have happiness again. In the future people will no longer live in fear, because they will have me by their side. They will support me for what I am trying to represent, and for the peace I will bring. I know you will not be here to see this peace, and for that I am truly sorry.

Sincerely,
Marta Simmons
(acting as Hamas the leader
of the Islamic gov).



Image Reference
Hamas. (2006). [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.blogdemagog.com/images/hamas.jpg

Transitional Justice to Me

Introduction
Often you hear that history repeats itself. To me transitional justice is the type of justice that attempts to stop just that. Instead, transitional justice protects citizens from undergoing the same brutalities from the past protecting them now and in the future. It is protection through laws, which help people feel security and that aids them for future success. Louis Bickford (2004) describes justice in the article Transitional Justice as “[it] refers to a field of activity and inquiry focused on how societies address legacies of past human rights abuses, mass atrocity, or other forms of severe social trauma, including genocide or civil war, in order to build a more democratic, just, or peaceful future” (p. 1045).

My Small Societies
The society I am going to focus on is my family unit. Though it is small it runs much like a society. In this society everyone has their own role. My great grandmother used to be the head of the family. She dealt with everyone, was able to iron out the conflicts, made sure the family always came together, made sure everyone was okay. When my great grandmother passed away the family did not run as smooth as it used to. In my household (sub society) my fiancé is the one who takes care of the business, while I take care of the household. When there is conflict, the family does not run smooth, which causes more difficulty in getting things done. In the main society conflicts arise from the members who are not following the rules of the family. Those getting in trouble with the law are often treated more like outcasts. In the sub society, my home life, conflict arises when power is questioned. Different conflicts that may arise are questions about: who should make the decisions, how do you divide decision making, and who is right and wrong? Often people’s separate beliefs and feelings are what can cause a fire to spread. Bernard S Mayer describes communication as a main reason for conflict in the book _The Dynamics of Conflict Resolution_, “[h]umans are very imperfect communicators. Sometimes this imperfection generates conflict, whether or not there is a significant incompatibility of interests, and it almost always makes conflict harder to solve. When trying to understand transitional justice it is important to understand both conflict and peace. When trying to understand transitional justice, it is first crucial to understand conflict. Conflict is what causes the need for transitional justice”. In my family structure this is the main cause of conflict. Communication is often replaced by miscommunication, and something that is nothing can be made into an immense conflict.

Conflict
One conflict that had been raised before is how my fiancé and I communicate with each other. Sometimes I think he speaks to me too harsh, and he thinks that I am way too overly emotional. When we say something to each other often it is misconstrued. It can especially be misconstrued when one or both of us are angry. I will often think that something he says is rude, and he often says, “I did not say that”. Sometimes we will realize that the whole conflict began because I thought he said something when he actually didn’t exactly mean that. Other times it can happen when reading beyond words or a statement. Often, this can cause conflict, and sometimes can be needless.

Most conflict in the family unit begins when there is a power struggle, or there are differences of opinion and emotion. My fiancé is a person who likes to have control. I am not as much of a leader as he is, but sometimes, I feel like taking the lead. Conflict may arise because he is so use to being the head of the family. I am a very emotional person, who holds strong opinions. My fiancé is a very unemotional person. Conflict can arise when I hold strong passions about my emotions, and my feelings get hurt by statements that may lack feeling or concern. Mayer describes how conflict can come about over feelings, and often the start of the conflict or the disagreement cannot even be identified. This describes my family “society” completely. My feelings often get in the way of rationalization. When I am angry or emotional I cannot rationalize my thoughts, and the anger and emotion is only the flame to the fire that grows. When arguing, the argument can truly be about something that does not even matter, but I can argue about it like it is the most important thing in the world (to me, at the moment, it is).

Global Conflict Map
In the interactive map, global conflict often arises because of disagreement or lack of power. One example of this was Columbia in 1899 to 1903. 100,000 people died because of the disagreement between conservatives and liberals. The difference between global conflict and small societal conflict is that the result may end in war. It is a travesty that 100,000 died over conflict or a war on change. Similarities are that conflict arises when people’s voices are not being heard and when their basic necessities are not being given to them. This supports what Peace Pledge Union stated about conflict in _Understanding Conflict, Understanding Peace_, “[h]uman beings have basic needs. Everyone needs to be recognized as an individual with a personal identity; everyone needs to be able to feel safe. If these needs aren't met, people protest, and protesting can lead to rebellion and violence”. All conflict is important, not only so that there can be change, but it is important to meet needs of the society. When conflict arises people can die, which also makes all conflict dangerous. It is crucial that there is as much peace as possible and that as many people are able to meet their needs as possible.

Peace
Peace is very important to me. It is important that there are avenues that can create resolution. Sometimes I feel like without a resolution I cannot accomplish peace of mind. Without finding an answer to the conflict I feel as if it will happen again, or never truly end. Peace is important because when conflict arises so can stress, sickness, and sadness. Communication skills could be the support necessary to resolve conflict in my family. Learning to communicate and listen to each other’s needs could be very helpful in the long run. The optimal end result is for both of us to have our needs met. For us both to feel content, and that we are heard. Globally, I think this concept could also be explored. Communication is the key to understanding each other. It is crucial that every member of society receive their basic needs.

REFERENCES
Bickford, Louis. From The Encyclopedia of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity (Macmillan Reference USA, 2004), vol. 3, pp. 1045-1047. Reproduced with permission
Mayer, B. The Dynamics of Conflict Resolution: A Practioner's Guide.
Nobel Media. (Designer). (2011). Conflict map. [Web]. Retrieved from http://nobelprize.org/educational/peace/conflictmap/conflictmap.html
Peace Pledge Union. (2001). Understanding conflict, understanding peace. Retrieved from http://www.ppu.org.uk/

IMAGE REFERENCE
Patel, Ana. (Photographer). (2008). Ddr and transitional justice. [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.ictj.org/en/research/projects/ddr/index.html