since its establishment. It appeared from the discussion that although some
organizations had been present when the NPRC has unveiled its strategy others
were not;
The Provincial Peace Committees that the NPRC set up are a welcome step in the
right direction and indicate the willingness of the NPRC to decentralize;
The government seems increasingly intent on over-regulating people and how
they exercise their rights;
The criminal persecution of human rights defenders has become increasingly
prevalent;
The operating environment is unstable and not conducive to the promotion of
human rights work. This is amplified by public statements by government
officials meant to intimidate NGOs;
It seems people are willing to engage with the NPRC although they are a bit
skeptical about it amidst concerns of governmental interference with the
Commission. It was concluded that now would be an ideal time for the NPRC to
assert its independence and gain credibility in the eyes of the public;
The government’s intolerance when it comes to day to day issues such as
people’s freedoms of association and assembly and the human rights violations
that occur as a result of the tolerance make it difficult to even begin to address
historical violations;
The space for engagement in communities is shrinking just as much as civil space
is shrinking amidst fear of persecution. It was however said that this varies from
each community to the next with other communities being more willing to
engage while in others the fear is very evident and translates to an unwillingness
to engage;
There is a lack of information in many communities not just on the NPRC but
transitional justice issues in a broad sense and
There is a power matrix that is making it difficult to engage with the public
especially in rural communities. It was said that local authorities in some
communities intimidate people to stop them from talking about local issues.
Participants noted that such intimidation is only possible because the
government has fostered a culture of intimidation and instilling fear.
Stakeholder Mapping
The stakeholder mapping exercise was done by asking all the participants to share briefly what
their organization does in general, then what they do specifically in the sphere of transitional
justice and their geographical sphere of influence. This exercise aimed to give the NTJWG an
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