Sierra Leone has been at peace for 20 years after a brutal civil war - what went right

• They also mark a decade since the closure of the Special Court for Sierra Leone.
• The court prosecuted high level commanders deemed responsible for the suffering experienced during the war.
• Almost all the people of Sierra Leone were affected by the war, leaving an enduring scar on the country and the collective psyche.

Transitional justice mechanisms

• Transitional justice is justice adapted to societies undergoing transformation away from “normalised” human rights abuse.
• Sierra Leone became the first in which two transitional justice mechanisms were used.
• My research focused on the official transitional justice mechanisms and whether the underlying causes of the war continued to affect the people of Sierra Leone.

Transitional justice in the long term

• While in Sierra Leone, I had candid discussions on the implementation, limitations and legacy of the official transitional justice mechanisms.
• I found there were operational tensions between the Truth Commission and the Special Court, but having both gave Sierra Leoneans restorative and retributive justice.
• Restorative justice refers to “an approach to justice that seeks to repair harm by providing an opportunity for those harmed and those who take responsibility for the harm to communicate about and address their needs in the aftermath of a crime.” Retributive justice is a system of criminal justice based on the punishment of offenders rather than on rehabilitation.
• Considering the impact of the war, incorporating both mechanisms was essential in helping the society to reconcile and rebuild.
• This acknowledges collective trauma but works towards peace in the long term.

A long way forward

• This is because its mechanisms are put to work over a short period but aim at long-term and lasting peace.
• My research also explored the current situation in a more holistic way.
• These are the legacy of transitional justice and its relationship to long-term peace, and the resilience of the Sierra Leonean people.