On Saturday 25 August, the Minister of Human Rights and Transitional Justice, Samir Dilou, opened a day of discussions in Tunis with Tunisian organisations on transitional justice. This event is part of the initiative of the Government to conduct a national dialogue on transitional justice, which began with a high level conference on 14 April 2012. This was followed by a series of training courses on transitional justice held throughout July in various regions of Tunisia and is continuing now with meetings with relevant stakeholders, including political parties, unions, archives and civil society.
Statement by Alison Smith, Legal Counsel of No Peace Without Justice:
“No Peace Without Justice (NPWJ) and the Nonviolent Radical Party, Transnational and Transparty (NRPTT) welcome this “open-day of discussions” to collect the views and expectations of Tunisian civil society towards transitional justice. This is a crucial step forward to involve civil society in shaping transitional justice and to them the possibility to express their opinion on how to design the mechanism that will eventually be adopted.
“NPWJ and our Tunisian partner Al-Kawakibi Democracy Transition Center have contributed to the national dialogue through the Transitional Justice Academy, which together with other key Tunisian NGOs working on transitional justice is a member of the National Commission for the Dialogue on Transitional Justice created inside the Human Right and Transitional Justice Ministry (HRTJ Ministry). The Commission has the mandate to assist the HRTJ Ministry in the preparation and holding of the national dialogue and to draft the legislation on transitional justice. According to the law establishing the Commission, the national dialogue should be conducted through a number of activities, including the training seminars already held in July, the current open day discussions with relevant groups, regional consultations in all Tunisian governorates and a national survey.
“We congratulate the Government of Tunisia on the steps it has taken to create a holistic transitional justice approach and to involve its citizens in these important decisions that will affect Tunisia’s future. We call on the Government of Tunisia to ensure this participatory approach will be translated into concrete measures and the views expressed during the current discussions and the upcoming regional consultations will be built into the fabric of transitional justice.
“Transitional justice cannot be used for political gains but it must be a concerted effort of all political parties and segments of society. Tunisians deserve a mechanism that truly responds to their accountability needs and Tunisia can only achieve a new, open and democratic society where the rule of law is respected and citizens trust State institutions by ensuring past violations will be fully addressed.”
For further information, please contact Greta Barbone on gbarbone@npwj.org and +216 28385079 or Nicola Giovannini on ngiovannini@npwj.org or +32 2 548-39 15.
For more information about NPWJ and KADEM’s work on transitional justice in Tunisia, please click here
