Transitional justice as a tool for peacebuilding.
Lasting peace is closely linked to justice, development and respect for human rights. Transitional justice processes have shown time and again that they can contribute to redressing societal grievances and divisions. To this end, these transitional justice processes must be context-specific, national, and focus on the needs of victims. Thus, it succeeds in connecting communities with each other and empowering and transforming them in the best possible way, thus contributing to achieving lasting peace.
Transitional justice aims to recognize victims of past transgressions as rights holders, strengthen confidence among individuals in one society, individuals’ confidence in state institutions, strengthen respect for human rights and strengthen the rule of law. Thus, transitional justice seeks to contribute to reconciliation and prevent new violations.
In societies that are trying to rebuild themselves and move from a violent history of gross human rights violations committed in the context of repression, armed conflict, or other contexts, critical questions arise about how to recognize violations, prevent their recurrence, meet demands for justice, and restore justice of the social fabric of local communities, and build sustainable peace. Transitional justice is a system that seeks to do everything necessary for societies to succeed in dealing with such difficult legacies, and develops various tools in order to achieve this goal.