BY SOLOMON DIBABA
Transitional justice is taken as one of the best options in many countries attempting to transit from conflict or authoritarian rule to kick start democratization process and post-conflict re-organization of political systems.
Ethiopia needs to deal with its past and organize its future based on the pillars of justice, equality, human rights and inclusiveness. Of particular importance is to develop effective mechanisms in which the victims of human rights violation and those affected by the situation are properly identified.
Therefore, this policy will address human rights-based and victim-centered framework, including compensation for victims, drawing on the experience of other jurisdictions and considering Ethiopia’s socio-political context
This transitional justice policy would also include a prosecution process that seeks to punish gross human rights violations, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other grave crimes, it was learned. Wide-ranging public consultation forums will be prepared on the policy options for transitional justice before it becomes effective.
In the document, a national truth and reconciliation commission is proposed to be established in order to oversee the various transitional justice systems and coordinate the relevant institutions. The document notes that “A stand-alone institution is established by legislation with clearly defined powers and responsibilities that are relevant to the pursuit of transitional justice, taking lessons from best practice and the experience of the now-defunct Reconciliation Commission,” states the document.
According to the document, establishing a commission may certainly require huge resources and time for preparation, and the bad image of the previous failed Reconciliation Commission are all challenges.
A couple of years back, a Reconciliation Commission was established in 2018 to assess, identify, and acknowledge gross human rights violations, injustices, grievances, and failures. However, the Commission’s three-year operational term expired in February 2022 without delivering any of its plans or mandates.
The international community has been pushing Ethiopia to adopt an international court system in order to assure accountability for the war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed during the two-year war in northern Ethiopia. Local human rights advocates have also been demanding the government adopt an extra-national human rights court system since Ethiopia’s judicial system has no arrangement to handle such cases.
It is to be recalled that the JIT which was jointly formed by the UN Human Rights Commission was able to identify war crimes and crimes against humanity that was committed during the two years’ war in the northern part of the country
The Ethiopian government earlier suggested that human rights violations can be handled by existing legal courts and instruments but this was indeed very difficult undertaking given
the extent to which human rights violation and crimes against humanity must have been committed in the country. Besides, the country’s legal system lacked the necessary frameworks and instruments that can be used to handle cases related to human rights violation and crimes against humanity that were allegedly committed in Ethiopia.
Among other things, the draft document stresses that Ethiopia’s criminal law does not incorporate crimes against humanity per se. This is a major gap in any prosecution procedure that is carried out within the framework of transitional justice. “It is therefore important that the substantive element of ‘crimes against humanity’ be incorporated into Ethiopian criminal law. Such a measure ensures a harmonized and fair criminal process,” the document states. On the other hand, Ethiopia has not become a state party to the Rome Statute of International Criminal Court.
The Draft policy document also rejects exposure to extra-national court systems and stresses that. “Other options availed by the international system are neither desirable nor feasible. The only rational alternative is to promote the adjudication of crimes using domestic courts, with a caveat attached in terms of institutional reform; this includes the assignment of judges for this specific process, the establishment of a dedicated bench or court, and the provision of training to judges and their assistants.”
The policy document however does not clearly identify the scope of reconciliation. It also did not decide whether the scope of the transitional justice should cover only the two-year period of the Tigray war, or post-2018, or post-1995, or post-1991, or post-1974, or start with Emperor Menelik II.
Article 10 of the Agreement on the Permanent Cession of Hostilities signed between the Federal Government of Ethiopia and the TPLF also calls for the establishment and implementation of the agreement
The draft document was also issued for discussion among higher government officials and other stakeholders. On the other hand, the document is expected to fulfill basic international obligations and African standards and needs to employ victims and survivals centered approach, the UN Human Rights Commission suggests.
The ministry reportedly expects to start implementing the policy by the next fiscal year but everything depends upon the preparations that are to be made over the current year.
Ever since, transitional justice became part of the political process for democracy and social justice in many other transitional countries, especially in African countries like South Africa, Sierra Leone, Liberia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and recently in The Gambia. The AU has been able to support these countries to come up with viable transitional polices that were implemented in these countries. The AU has come up with its own regional Transitional Justice Policy in February 2019.
At any rate, the implementation of the Ethiopian Transitional Justice Policy needs the support of a wide spectrum of stakeholders, sector ministries, regional states and all concerned institutions in the country.
Editor’s Note: The views entertained in this article do not necessarily reflect the stance of The Ethiopian
The Ethiopian March 14/2023
