Uganda • Prevent economic and social dislocation of the family. NB. These offer domestic credibility and, by focusing on weakness, we may be avoiding unfounded expectations. Cleansing and welcoming Cleansing practices are an important element of traditional practices among the ethnic communities of Uganda. For example, throughout the Acholi, Lango and Teso regions these practices form the core of reintegration processes after conflict. They are most commonly practised as part of a process of welcoming, but they also remain integral to response mechanisms for a killing or other act properly under­stood in the community as an abomination. Cleansing also functions as part of a final reconciliation process to normalize relations between a victim and a perpetrator. Cleansing is most prominently connected with welcoming practices for individuals who had been absent from a community for a prolonged period of time. Cleansing ceremonies to date remain integral to major reconciliation practices among local communities in Uganda. Community members often describe cleansing as part of the reconciliation process in the slaughtering of a bull, sheep or goat. For example, in northern Uganda, the communities closely associate cleansing with the idea of cooling one’s temper after becoming hot or disturbed. Others further view cleansing as important in restoring balance, both mentally and emotionally, and it serves as a necessary preparatory step in readying both individuals and the community for a further process of reconciliation. Cleansing is also framed as welcoming individuals back into the community. This principle of welcoming and cleansing should be part of the national transitional justice process to facilitate the restoration of a national community. Punishment and retributive aspects of traditional justice It would be an error to ignore entirely the role of punishment in the practice of traditional justice. Caning was the most common form of punishment and was ubiquitous across the three regions. The retributive aspect of traditional justice is often part of an initial community response to a given abuse, and is then followed by mechanisms that embody the justice system’s other elements. The intended purpose of punishment is focused mainly at deterrence. Importantly, punishment is a largely individualized element of traditional justice, unlike the communal nature of much of its other elements. The individual who committed an offence would be caned, not the clan as a whole. International Conference on Transitional Justice, Zimbabwe 63