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June 22, 2007
OJPCR 7.1: Truth vs. Justice? Popular Views on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Special Court For Sierra Leone
Edward Sawyer and Tim Kelsall
Abstract: In Sierra Leone international transitional justice has been pursued via a two-pronged approach. On one, restorative prong, a Truth and Reconciliation Commission has attempted to provide an accurate historical record of the conflict, and to reconcile victims and perpetrators. On the other, retributive prong, an international tribunal is prosecuting individuals for war crimes and crimes against humanity. This strategy has been much debated, but largely at elite levels. Arguably, however, it is at the grassroots where the two institutions face their greatest challenge. To provide a bottom-up view, this article discusses the results of a popular opinion survey. The results show that overall understanding of the Commission and Court are poor and that, partly as a result, the two organs are perceived to have had limited success. In spite of this, most respondents continue to think that they are important to peace in Sierra Leone. Statistical, cultural, methodological, and qualitative interpretations of these findings are discussed. The results provide pointers to the prospects for transitional justice models of this type.
Posted by Editor at June 22, 2007 03:23 PM