Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Addis Standard2
Published on 2024-04-17 12:57:58
The Council of Ministers met today and unanimously approved the draft Transitional Justice Policy after discussing and adding additional input to the document. The policy is set to be effective from the date of its approval, according to a recent announcement.
The main goal of the Transitional Justice Policy is to address the overlapping and wide range of victims of human rights violations, conflicts, narratives, and abuses that have occurred in different eras in the country. The Council emphasized that previous attempts to resolve these issues were not successful as they lacked a rights-oriented and flexible approach. In contrast, the new policy is described as an inclusive, humanitarian transitional justice strategy based on mercy, justice, and transparent policies.
The draft policy was submitted by the Ministry of Justice after a series of public consultation workshops to validate its content. The Ministry organized four workshops in Addis Ababa with representatives from political parties, civil society organizations, victim groups, and government officials. These stakeholders actively debated and provided feedback on the policy draft content, contributing to the final version of the policy.
In September 2023, a team of 14 experts led public consultations on transitional justice policy options, under the ministry’s guidance. The consultations, which had been ongoing since March 2023, aimed to gather input from various groups across the country.
Recently, Addis Standard published an article featuring expert perspectives on Ethiopia’s transitional justice process. The experts raised concerns about misplaced optimism and questioned the government’s commitment to genuine accountability in the process.
Overall, the approval of the Transitional Justice Policy by the Council of Ministers marks a significant step towards addressing historical human rights violations and conflicts in Ethiopia. The inclusive and humanitarian approach outlined in the policy signifies a shift towards a more rights-oriented and flexible strategy to achieve justice and reconciliation for all victims involved.
Read the original article on Addis Standard
