AU PSC: Morocco Insists on Sharing Successful Transitional Justice Experiences in African Countries
Morocco stressed, on Tuesday in Addis Ababa, before the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU) the importance of sharing successful transitional justice experiences and best practices in African countries.
At an AU PSC videoconference meeting on “Transitional Justice and Post-Conflict Peacebuilding”, chaired by Ambassador Mohamed Arrouchi, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom to the AU and UNECA, the Moroccan delegation stressed the need to adjust transitional justice approaches to the specificities of local contexts, while emphasizing the imperative of continued support from stakeholders at national, continental and international levels.
The Moroccan delegation also called for reparation programs that address the physical, psychological and economic harms suffered by victims, focusing more on issues linked to the structural and systemic socio-economic injustices that are often the root causes of conflict.
The Moroccan delegation pointed out that transitional justice in Africa is of paramount importance in view of the many conflicts the continent has experienced, noting that several African countries have had to resort to transitional justice, opting for the approaches and mechanisms most appropriate to the specific contexts of each country.
It is clear that transitional justice and post-conflict reconstruction are two closely linked and often interdependent processes. Indeed, the reconstruction of societies torn apart by violence cannot be achieved without restoring trust between divided communities. Strengthened trust is therefore essential to the success of post-conflict reconstruction efforts, said the Moroccan delegation.
Transitional justice mechanisms, such as truth commissions and tribunals, as well as reparations programs for victims, contribute to the healing of individual and collective trauma. Psychologically and socially stable populations are better able to take part actively in post-conflict reconstruction, stressed the Moroccan delegation.
