1. 2. 3. 4. To To To To take reasonable steps to prevent human rights violations; conduct a serious investigation of violations when they occur; impose suitable sanctions on those responsible for the violations; and ensure reparation for the victims of the violations. 6 Those principles have been affirmed explicitly in later decisions by the court and have been endorsed in decisions by the European Court of Human Rights and UN treaty bodies such as the Human Rights Committee. The 1998 creation of the International Criminal Court was also significant, as the court’s statute enshrines state obligations of vital importance to the fight against impunity and to respect for victims’ rights. Looking ahead New, practical challenges have forced the field to innovate, as settings have shifted from Argentina and Chile, where authoritarianism ended, to societies such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Liberia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where the key issue is protracted violent conflicts. Ethnic cleansing and displacement, the reintegration of excombatants, reconciliation among communities, and the role of justice in peace building have become important new issues. Transitional-justice practitioners have also engaged with local, or ‘traditional,’ justice measures. In some countries, such as Sierra Leone and Uganda, communities may wish to use traditional rituals to foster reconciliation of warring parties or to reintegrate excombatants. In such cases, the role of transitional justice is to ensure that a holistic approach is taken — one that may include the ritual but does not exclude the possibility of using other transitional-justice measures. Ultimately, there is no single formula for dealing with a past marked by large-scale human rights abuse. All transitional-justice approaches are based on a fundamental belief in universal human rights. But, in the end, each society should — indeed must — choose its own path. As it is seen in most countries where massive human rights violations take place, the claims of justice refuse to ‘go away’. The elements of a comprehensive transitional-justice policy The different elements of a transitional-justice (TJ) policy are not parts of a random list, but, rather, are related to one another practically and conceptually. At the centre of a TJ policy is the investigation and prosecution of serious international crimes, such as genocide and crimes against humanity. This helps strengthen the rule of law by imposing criminal sanctions on those who violate laws. It also demonstrates that crime will not be tolerated and that human rights abusers will be held accountable for their actions. From its historical roots in the Nuremberg Trials, recent examples have included the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, hybrid courts such as the Special Court for Sierra Leone, Special Panels of the Dili District Court, Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC) with universal jurisdiction. The ICC and hybrid courts/tribunals are key components of these prosecution initiatives: • Reparations, by means of which governments recognise, and take steps to address, the harms suffered. Such initiatives often have material elements (such as cash payments or health services), as well as symbolic aspects (such as public apologies or a day of remembrance); • Institutional reform, of abusive state institutions such as armed forces, the police and Module 6: Community healing through reconciliation and transitional justice 101