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Sifris, Ronli --- "The Four Pillars of Transitional Justice: A Gender-Sensitive Analysis" [2010] ELECD 200; in Joseph, Sarah; McBeth, Adam (eds), "Research Handbook on International Human Rights Law" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2010)

Book Title: Research Handbook on International Human Rights Law

Editor(s): Joseph, Sarah; McBeth, Adam

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781847203687

Section: Chapter 11

Section Title: The Four Pillars of Transitional Justice: A Gender-Sensitive Analysis

Author(s): Sifris, Ronli

Number of pages: 27

Extract:

11. The four pillars of transitional justice:
a gender-sensitive analysis
Ronli Sifris



1 What is transitional justice?

A A general definition
The term `transitional justice' refers to a holistic, restorative approach to
justice which applies in the context of societies confronting a legacy of
systematic or widespread human rights abuse. It is an approach to justice
which seeks to balance the need for accountability and for recognition of
victims' suffering with the desire to achieve a lasting peace and true recon-
ciliation. The types of transitions which a society may undergo differ
according to the particular context. Transitional justice has traditionally
been understood as applying to countries transitioning from an authoritarian,
violent past to a democratic, non-violent future. Examples of such transi-
tions include those of many Latin American countries from military to civil-
ian rule.1 However, the term may also be used to refer to `conflicted
democracies'; `[i]n this context, the transition becomes one of: (a) from
procedural to substantive democracy, or at least involving a deepening of
substantive democracy, and (b) from violence to peace.'2 One example of
this is the Northern Ireland transition.3
There is no `one size fits all' approach to transitional justice. While gener-
alizations can be made in terms of what is necessary to institute a comprehen-
sive transitional justice process, ultimately each society confronting a legacy
of human rights abuses is different from other societies which have also had
to deal with such a past. Thus while ...