|
Advanced search
Previous page
|
Title
No return home: the (non-)reintegration of youth ex-combatants in Sierra Leone as a Challenge to the contextualisation of DDR and transitional justice |
Full text
https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/2942058; http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-2942058 |
Date
2012 |
Author(s)
Schotsmans, Martien |
Contributor(s)
Derluyn, Ilse; Mels, Cindy; Parmentier, Stephan; Vandenhole, Wouter |
Abstract
One of the distinguishing features of the extremely violent conflict in Sierra Leone, which lasted from 1991 till 2002, was the abduction and use in hostilities of children and youths. After the conflict many efforts have been made for their reintegration and rehabilitation. However, seven years after the official end of the conflict, a number of young adults have not returned home and have settled in the large towns. Based on recent field research, the chapter wants to analyze the reasons for this as well as the challenges of considering the cultural context to address them. More in particular, the chapter wants to analyze the relationship between the reintegration efforts and the transitional justice process on the one hand, and the traditional values of justice and reconciliation as well as the broader societal environment on the other hand. Even though children under the age of fifteen could not be prosecuted by the Special Court and de facto none below the age of eighteen have been prosecuted, the question remains whether there is a need for more (not necessarily criminal) accountability of these "youths" with respect to the communities where they committed crimes. The reverse question is whether the issue of the communities' and mainly the elders' responsibility for the alienation and discrimination of the youth as a cause of the conflict, as established by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, has been sufficiently acknowledged. In that respect, some other reasons for not returning home will be identified as challenges to the consideration of the cultural context in DDR and transitional justice: the fear of revenge or rejection, the generation conflict and secret society practices. |
Subject(s)
Law and Political Science; Reintegration; Child Soldiers; Sierra Leone; Transitional Justice; Tradition-based Justice |
Language
eng |
Publisher
Intersentia |
Type of publication
bookChapter; info:eu-repo/semantics/bookPart; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion |
Format
application/pdf |
Source
Re-member: rehabilitation, reintegration and reconciliation of war-affected children; ISBN: 9789400000278 |
Rights
I have transferred the copyright for this publication to the publisher; info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess |
Repository
Gent - University of Gent
|
Added to C-A: 2014-04-10;14:41:54 |
© Connecting-Africa 2004-2024 | Last update: Friday, March 8, 2024 |
Webmaster
|