Children And Transitional Justice - Unicef-irc
Children andTransitionalJusticeTruth-Telling, Accountabilityand ReconciliationEdited by:Sharanjeet ParmarMindy Jane RosemanSaudamini SiegristTheo SowaPublished by the Human Rights Program at Harvard Law School
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), March 2010Printed in the United States of AmericaThis publication was jointly developed by the UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre(IRC) in Florence, Italy and the Human Rights Program, Harvard Law School,Massachusetts, United States of America. It is being distributed by HarvardUniversity Press.UNICEF IRC publications are contributions to a global debate on child rights issuesand include a wide range of opinions. For that reason, the Centre may producepublications that do not necessarily reflect UNICEF policies or approaches onsome topics. The views expressed are those of the authors and are being publishedin order to stimulate further dialogue on child rights.All Rights ReservedCover photo: UNICEF/NYHQ2006-2801/Bruno BrioniISBN: 978-0-9796395-4-8Human Rights ProgramHarvard Law School1563 Massachusetts AvenuePound Hall 401Cambridge, MA 02138United States of aw.harvard.edu/programs/hrpDistributed by Harvard University Presshttp://www.hup.harvard.eduPrinted by Signature Book Printing, http://www.sbpbooks.com
ContentsAcknowledgmentsAcronymsiiivForewordBy Graça MachelIntroductionxvChapter 1: Child Rights and Transitional JusticeSaudamini Siegristix1Chapter 2: Basic Assumptions of Transitional Justiceand Children31Chapter 3: International Criminal Justice and Child Protection67Alison SmithCécile AptelChapter 4: Children and the South African Truth andReconciliation Commission115Chapter 5: Child Participation in the Sierra LeoneanTruth and Reconciliation Commission159Chapter 6: Children and the Liberian Truth andReconciliation Commission193Piers PigouPhilip Cook and Cheryl HeykoopTheo Sowa
iiContentsChapter 7: Accountability and Reconciliation inNorthern UgandaAccountability for Sexual and Gender-Based Crimes by theLord’s Resistance ArmyKristopher Carlson and Dyan MazuranaThe Potential and Limits of Mato Oput as a Tool forReconciliation and JusticePrudence Acirokop231235267Chapter 8: Disappeared Children, Genetic Tracing and Justice293Chapter 9: Truth Commissions and National Curricula:The Case of Recordándonos in Peru327Chapter 10: Realizing Economic Justice for Children:The Role of Transitional Justice in Post-Conflict Societies365Annex403Michele Harvey-Blankenship and Rachel ShigekaneJulia PaulsonSharanjeet Parmar
AcknowledgmentsThis book brings together the research of individual experts onnew and emerging issues in the area of child rights and transitionaljustice. The work presented in these pages is inspired by the manychildren and young people who have contributed their courageand creative energy in efforts towards justice and peace-building intheir communities.The editors are honored by the contribution of Graça Machel in preparing the foreword; her landmark study on the Impactof Armed Conflict on Children has served as a foundation for thisbook. We are indebted to Archbishop Desmond Tutu for his support and tireless efforts in seeking truth, justice and reconciliation,which has given others the inspiration to pursue those goals in theaftermath of violence and armed conflict.This book represents highlights from the research undertakenby the UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre on children and transitional justice, from 2007 to 2009. It is informed by a wide networkof legal experts, child rights advocates, practitioners and activists,including many children who have engaged with the authors andwhose voices are recorded in these pages. The authors have soughta way forward, using evidence and analysis as the basis for recommendations to better protect the rights of children in future transitional justice processes.We are indebted to Marta Santos Pais, who served as theDirector of the UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre during thepreparation of this book. We are grateful to Yasmin Sooka for providing wise guidance and to Jaap Doek for his profound insights onchild rights. We thank Radhika Coomaraswamy for her leadershipon issues related to children and armed conflict. We are grateful toRyan Goodman for his efforts in initiating this collection.The research and analysis of children’s involvement in transitional justice presented here was reviewed in panel and workinggroup discussions during a conference on Children and Transitional Justice, convened by the UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre
ivAcknowledgmentsand the Human Rights Program of Harvard Law School, at Harvardin April 2009. The experiences and insights of participants in thatconference have informed the chapters of this book, as well as theKey Principles for Children and Transitional Justice, presented hereas an outcome document to that conference.We are grateful for the invaluable contributions of the manypeer reviewers who gave generously of their time and expertisein commenting on draft chapters. We are grateful to colleaguesat Harvard Law School and at UNICEF who have contributed.In particular, we would like to thank Annie Berndtson andAnn Linnarsson. Our appreciation is extended to CatherineWay, who provided dedicated editorial support. We also thankMichael Jones, who contributed the cover and design for the book.Mr. Jones also oversaw the production of the book, along withAllyson Alert-Atterbury and Eve Leckey of the UNICEF InnocentiResearch Centre.This study would not have been possible without the financial support provided by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs(Ministero degli Affari Esteri Cooperazione allo Sviluppo) and thefunding provided by the Government of France.
AcronymsACRWCAfrican Charter on the Rights and Welfareof the ChildAIDSacquired immune deficiency syndromeANCAfrican National Congress (South Africa)ARLPIAcholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative (Uganda)BMWBonteheuwal Military Wing (South Africa)CARCentral African RepublicCAVRComissão de Acolhimento, Verdade eReconciliação de Timor-Leste (Commission forReception, Truth and Reconciliation in East Timor)CCSLCouncil of Churches in Sierra LeoneCFNChildren’s Forum Network (Sierra Leone)CONADEPComisión Nacional sobre la Desaparición dePersonas (National Commission on theDisappearance of Persons), ArgentinaCPAchild protection agencyCPNchild protection networkCRCConvention on the Rights of the ChildCVRComisión de la Verdad y Reconciliación(Truth and Reconciliation Commission), Peru
viAcronymsDCNDiseño Curricular Nacional (NationalCurriculum Design), PeruDDRdisarmament, demobilization and reintegrationDRCDemocratic Republic of the CongoFMLNFrente Farabundo Martí para la LiberaciónNacional (National Liberation Front), El SalvadorHIVhuman immunodeficiency virusHLAhuman leukocyte antigenICCInternational Criminal CourtICESCRInternational Covenant on Economic, Socialand Cultural RightsICTRInternational Criminal Tribunal for RwandaICTYInternational Criminal Tribunal for theformer YugoslaviaIDLInstituto de Defensa Legal (Peru)IDPinternally displaced personIFPInkatha Freedom Party (South Africa)IRCInnocenti Research Centre (UNICEF)MKUmkhonto we Sizwe (‘Spear of the Nation’),South AfricamtDNAmitochondrial DNA
Children and Transitional JusticeLRALord’s Resistance Army (Uganda)MOUmemorandum of understandingMRTAMovimiento Revolucionario Túpac Amaru(Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement), PeruMSWGCAMinistry of Social Welfare, Gender andChildren’s Affairs (Sierra Leone)NCRCNational Child Rights Committee (anon-governmental organization in South Africa)NGOnon-governmental organizationOHCHROffice of the United Nations High Commissionerfor Human RightsPISAProgramme for International Student AssessmentPUCPPontificia Universidad Católica del Perú(Pontificate Catholic University of Peru)RPFRwandan Patriotic FrontRUFRevolutionary United Front (Sierra Leone)SADFSouth African Defence Force (now theSouth African National Defence Force)SCSLSpecial Court for Sierra LeoneSDUself-defense unitSRSGSpecial Representative of the (United Nations)Secretary-Generalvii
viiiAcronymsSTRshort tandem repeatTRCtruth and reconciliation commissionUNAMSILUnited Nations Mission in Sierra LeoneUNICEFUnited Nations Children’s FundUNIFEMUnited Nations Development Fund for WomenUNMILUnited Nations Mission in LiberiaUPDFUganda People’s Defence Forces
ForewordBy Graça Machel“It’s only by reviewing the past will we know the present.Only by knowing the present will we make a perspectivefor the future.”1– Samora Machel, late president of MozambiqueIn the aftermath of our struggle for liberation in Mozambique,this statement gave voice to millions who had fought for an endto oppression and injustice, and dared to hope for peace. We hadachieved the aim of our struggle – liberation from colonialism –but we knew that our country had paid a high price. For childrenit was devastating. Their schools and health clinics had beendestroyed, and the years of education they had lost could notbe recovered. They lived their childhood under the burden ofeconomic deprivations caused by the war. Most importantly, theylived through the injuries and deaths of their parents, families andfriends and the destruction of their communities. As a people – asa country – we truly appreciated the need to understand why andhow the struggle could help us come to terms with our past, topromote reconciliation and to build a Mozambique of equity, justiceand freedom, and of social and economic prosperity.Thirty years later, the need for justice, reconciliation andeconomic development in the aftermath of war is evident on everycontinent. Devastating wars have been waged in all parts of theworld, with terrible impacts on the physical, emotional, socialand psychological well-being of children. Deliberate violation ofchildren’s rights has become the norm. We have witnessed thetargeting of children for killing, torture, underage recruitment,sexual violence and exploitation, and we have failed to counteractthose atrocities. We can no longer plead for accountability – wemust demand it.Inaugural speech for the Reunião dos Comprometidos (the Meeting of the Compromised), Maputo, 2 July 1982.1
xForewordTo prevent the perpetration of these crimes on anothergeneration of children, we must put accountability, truth-seeking,justice and reconciliation at the center of post-conflict recoveryand development. Transitional justice mechanisms and processesare designed to come to terms with large-scale and systematicviolations, and to support recovery in countries emergingfrom armed conflict or political violence. They offer a range ofpossibilities to achieve accountability, justice and reconciliation aspart of recovery, specifically in situations where gross violations ofchildren’s rights have taken place.Transitional justice has been the focus of growing attentionin recent years, including through the work of international andhybrid criminal jurisdictions, truth commissions, national courtsand local reconciliation efforts. These processes enable individuals,communities and nations to respond to the atrocities and abusearising from war. Transitional justice processes attempt to dealwith the legacy of war but also help prevent future violationsby establishing a way forward, from conflict to a more just andstable society.The potential success of such processes depends on the extentto which they prioritize children. We know from experience that ifchildren are excluded from a country’s agenda, if their rights are notaddressed, a fault line will run through the heart of the nation. Themeasure of a country’s strength and vision is not its military mightbut its investment in children’s capacities, in their development.Prioritizing children’s issues is not all that is needed. Children’svoices and their experiences must also be taken into consideration.Having been witnesses and victims of the crimes of war, childrenhave a key role in addressing those crimes and in reconciliationand peace-building processes in their communities. Children andadolescents contribute a tremendous pool of capacity, energy, ideasand creativity, and as countries emerge from societal or politicalviolence, that vital human resource is urgently needed.Evidence clearly demonstrates that children have animportant and unique role in processes that seek truth, justice andreconciliation. Adults can act on behalf of children and in the bestinterests of children, but unless children themselves are consulted
Children and Transitional Justicexiand engaged, we will fall short and undermine the potential topursue the most relevant and most durable solutions.Yes, we must be certain that involving children protects theirrights, builds their confidence and strengthens their bodies, mindsand hearts. We must bear in mind that children – especially thoseemerging from horrifying experiences in conflict – will need longterm support and protection to counteract the violations they havesuffered. We know, for example, that girls who have been targetedfor sexual crimes can suffer further pain and stigma when theyreturn to their families and communities. We cannot turn a blindeye. Rather, we must listen carefully, and on their terms, and takedecisive action to support them and bring about changes that willimprove their lives.To enable children’s participation while ensuring theirprotection and allowing them to feel safe, secure and at ease,we need child-friendly policies, procedures and practices in alltransitional justice activities. This includes supporting children’sright to choose whether or not to participate and to decide howthey wish to be involved, with whom they wish to engage and when.The chapters in this book review efforts to involve childrenin transitional justice processes and consider the implications,relevance and impact on the lives of children.Strengthening international legal frameworks and standardsprovides a basis for eliminating impunity and improvingaccountability for crimes committed against children in times ofconflict and political violence. Recent indictments and prosecutionsfor crimes against children by the International Criminal Court andthe Special Court for Sierra Leone demonstrate that accountabilityis not beyond our reach. Yet we must admit that progress has beenuneven, and the involvement of children in these processes is stillnew and largely untested. This book seeks to evaluate a number ofrecent efforts and from them recommend next steps.One issue that is the subject of ongoing debate is the age ofcriminal responsibility for international crimes and what it meansin relation to children who have been both the victims and theperpetrators of such crimes. The deliberate abduction, forcedrecruitment and use of children in hostilities during armed conflict
xiiForewordare crimes under international law. Yet in prosecuting such crimesagainst children, it must be recognized that an intergenerationalcycle of violence has turned the very children who were victims ofthese crimes into perpetrators of similar offenses.Children who have been abducted and forced by adults toparticipate in war crimes are victims. Indeed, they are victimsbecause they are forced to become perpetrators of the violence andabuse they themselves have suffered. Therefore, the participation ofthese children in transitional justice mechanisms must be primarilyas victims and witnesses. This does not minimize the importanceof accountability for children who become perpetrators. However,it does mean finding ways, within the context of child and humanrights instruments, to redress the wrongs these children havesuffered while they also make their redress to their communities.Transitional justice processes should promote accountabilitywhile fostering learning, self-respect and dignity and maximizingopportunities for rehabilitation and reintegration in their familiesand communities.Another issue raised in the chapters that follow is the protectionand participation of girls in transitional justice processes. Untilrecently, children have been overlooked in these processes, andgirls have been even more marginalized. A senior officer in theUnited Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republicof the Congo recently stated “it has probably become moredangerous to be a woman than a soldier in an armed conflict.”2 Thisstatement is more true for girls. They are targeted in armed conflictbecause of their vulnerability and their gender. They have beensubjected to rape, mutilation, forced prostitution, forced pregnancy,forced combat and death. Girls have been systematically abductedand used for forced labor and sexual slavery. This is not limited to aparticular context; it reflects a global phenomenon.Recently, these crimes have been prosecuted by internationalcourts as war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. YetRetired Major General Patrick Cammaert, former Division Commander of theUnited Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, speakingbefore the United Nations Security Council upon its adoption of Resolution 1820 (2008),19 June 2008.2
Children and Transitional Justicexiiiprosecution has only taken place in a few instances and does notbegin to address the magnitude of crimes committed.Additionally, when crimes against girls and women have beenaddressed by transitional justice processes, the focus has beenalmost exclusively on sexual crimes, limiting attention to themultitude of other grave violations against girls and women, suchas loss of education, livelihood and land, as well as forced labor,slavery, exploitation and trafficking. Focusing on sexual violenceagainst girls can limit the understanding of the totality of theirexperiences in conflict and leave them marginalized in recoveryefforts, in reparation processes and in the structure and relevance ofpost-conflict institutional reform.Experience shows that judicial mechanisms alone areinsufficient in the aftermath of massive and systematic violations.Despite attempts to strengthen and adapt them, traditionalprocesses have also been inadequate to deal with the results ofthe most serious violations and the sheer number of victims ofatrocities. How then can we come to terms – reconcile and rebuild –following war and large-scale political violence? How do we assureaccountability?There is no one answer. The damage to the lives of childrencaused by the worst impacts of armed conflict cannot be fullyrepaired, but much has been done to protect children and enablethem to better protect themselves. The chapters in this book look atexamples of the mechanisms and processes that have been engagedto this end, undertake analysis and make recommendations tostrengthen both the protection and the participation of children,and to promote child-friendly and relevant outcomes.It is clear, for example, that safe and meaningful childparticipation in truth commissions leads to articulation of amore complete story of a conflict. Yet, for a truth commissionto have lasting impact, people need to see tangible differencesin their lives after it has finished its work. Suggestions for suchadvances put forward by children include access to education andvocational skills, accelerated rebuilding of schools, the inclusionof lessons from the truth commission in school curricula, help forchildren on the streets and compensation for youth to make up
xivForewordfor lost years of education through the provision of economic andlivelihoods opportunities. All of this has major implications forgovernments and donors who fund truth commissions and othertransitional justice mechanisms. Sufficient funding to supportchildren’s participation and provide resources to implementrecommendations is crucial.Several chapters highlight the practical outcomes that childrenhope will result from their involvement in transitional justiceprocesses. The call for accountability for th
Chapter 1: Child Rights and Transitional Justice 1 Saudamini Siegrist Chapter 2: Basic Assumptions of Transitional Justice 31 and Children Alison Smith Chapter 3: International Criminal Justice and Child Protection 67 Cécile Aptel Chapter 4: Children and the South African Truth and 115 Reconciliation Commission Piers Pigou
Kidane (UNICEF Regional Office for Eastern and Southern Africa), Rinko Kinoshita (UNICEF Nicaragua), Guillaume Kobehi-Toutou (UNICEF Côte d’Ivoire), George Laryea-Adjei (UNICEF South Africa), Jean Lieby (UNICEF Senegal), Daniela Luciani (UNICEF Senegal), Birgithe Lund-Henriksen (UNICEF Tanzania),
UNICEF The Netherlands Tel: 31 (0)88 444 96 50 Email: mkaandorp@unicef.nl The Child Notice has been produced by UNICEF The Netherlands, UNICEF Belgium and UNICEF Sweden as part of the project Better information for durable solutions and protection which is financially supported by the Return Fund of the European Commission.
UNICEF Supply Division 2021. 1 Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food - Current Outlook March 2021 1. Summary Most of the ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) is used in emergency response. UNICEF procures an estimated 75- . 10 UNICEF, Therapeutic Milk Market and Supply Update, UNICEF, Copenhagen, June 2020. 11 UNICEF, .
de l'enfant, l'Unicef considère que l'accès à l'eau potable et à l'assainissement est un droit fondamental. C'est pourquoi l'Unicef fournit de l'eau et des installations sanitaires de base aux populations dans plus de 90 pays. L'Unicef est intervenu pour la première fois dans le domaine de l'eau et de l'assainissement
retributive justice is present in practice and if there is a trend of implementing restorative approaches to justice in this context. The objective of this study is relevant for transitional justice as there is a debate among scholars on the applicability of restorative justice in transitional societies.
ENCRYPTION, PRIVACY AND CHILDREN’S RIGHT TO PROTECTION FROM HARM Daniel Kardefelt-Winthera, Emma Dayb, Gabrielle Bermana, Sabine K. Wittingc, and Anjan Bosed (a) UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti (b) UNICEF, East Asia and Pacific Regional Office (c) UNICEF Zimbabwe (d) UNICEF, Programme Division, Child Protection
Mr.Justice Sh.Riaz Ahmed, HCJ Mr.Justice Munir A.Sheikh Mr.Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry Mr.Justice Qazi Muhammad Farooq Mr.Justice Mian Muhammad Ajmal Mr.Justice Syed Deedar Hussain Shah Mr.Justice Hamid Ali Mirza Mr.Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar Mr.Justice Muhammad Nawaz Abbasi CONSTITUTION PETITION NO.15 OF 2002
Joanne Freeman – The American Revolution Page 3 of 265 The American Revolution: Lecture 1 Transcript January 12, 2010 back Professor Joanne Freeman: Now, I'm looking out at all of these faces and I'm assuming that many of you have
