On 21 December 2012, the Association of Justice and Rehabilitation, Al Kawakibi Democracy Transition Center and No Peace Without Justice concluded a consultation with more than 55 victims, representatives of victims and victims’ families in Tunis, Tunisia. The one-day long consultation, which was held within the framework of the Transitional Justice Academy, involved groups of victims coming from various governorates and cities throughout the country, including Ben Guerden, Gabes, Gafsa, Kairouan Kasserine, Mahdia, Mednine, Nabeul, Regueb, Sfax, Sidi Bouzid, Sousse, Tunis.
After the revolution, organisations and associations of victims have emerged around the country, but in most cases they are informal and have not formed themselves into organised networks and platforms. For victims to have an active role in shaping and participating in transitional justice and reparations programs, there is a need to create platforms as well as networks representing different groups of victims. This will facilitate the sharing of information and communication as well as effective participation for victims in transitional justice processes and advocacy with the Government and other relevant actors.
Victims and their families suffered directly from the violations that transitional justice aims to address. As such, they are among the most relevant stakeholders in any transitional justice and reparation program that will be established in the country. During the consultation, victims concluded that their active participation in the negotiation and implementation of transitional justice processes would be strengthened through self-organisation within networks and platforms and elaborated action plans for their establishment. This is an important first step towards victims in Tunisia bridging the geographic divide that exists in the country and re-branding and empowering themselves as survivors with rights to participate in decisions and processes affecting their lives.
Documentation:
- Download the Report on the Victims Consultation on “The development of a network and a common platform in order to enhance the role of victims in the transitional justice process”
For further information, please contact Greta Barbone on gbarbone@npwj.org or +216 28385079 or Nicola Giovannini on ngiovannini@npwj.org or +32 (0)2 548-39 15.
For more information about NPWJ and KADEM’s work on transitional justice in Tunisia, please click here
