reparations lessons from south africa
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Reparations Lessons from South Africa. Dr Fanie du Toit Le rôle, la place et le récit des victimes dans les processus de justice transitionnelle 18 et 19 février 2013 Hôtel Golden Tulip El Mechtel Tunis. REPARATION: A FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT INTERNATIONALLY AND IN TUNISIA . - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
REPARATIONS LESSONS FROM SOUTH
AFRICADr Fanie du Toit
Le rôle, la place et le récit des victimes dans les processus de justice transitionnelle
18 et 19 février 2013Hôtel Golden Tulip El Mechtel
Tunis
REPARATION: A FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT INTERNATIONALLY AND IN TUNISIA
• “States should endeavour to establish national programmes for reparation and other assistance to victims in.” (2006 UN Basic Principles, Principle 16)
• Thomas Lubanga case: both individual and collective reparations were necessary
• Various Tunisian transitional justice measures since 2011 have acknowledged the importance of reparations as a right:• The National Fact finding Commission recommended effective redress
for victims and their families of abuses from Dec 17, 2010 onwards.• Decree law No 97 proposes a memorial for victims of the January 14
Revolution, a museum, renaming of street names, January 14 as a public holiday etc.
• The Draft Law on TJ acknowledges the Right to Reparation (Art 11)
BASIC PRINCIPLES AND GUIDELINES
4 kinds of victims• Suffer harm directly• Dependents of those who suffer harm directly• Collective victims such as organisations, communities or
institutions• Individuals injured in an attempt to prevent violationsTunisian Law recognise all four categories of victims
4 forms of reparationsCompensation – financial damages for physical or mental harmRestitution – freedom, human rights, property, employmentRehabilitation – medical and social care, including psychological and legal needsSatisfaction and Guarantees of non-repetition – effective measures to aid the cessation of violence, reconciliation and institutional reform, public disclosure, exhumation, search for the disappeared, public efforts to apologise and memorialise the victimsTunisian law tends to emphasise the first and pay less systematic attention to the last.
REPARATION AFTER APARTHEID
• A d e l i c a t e b a l a n c e b e t w e e n C i v i c a n d H u m a n D i g n i t y• 2 1 , 0 0 0 v i c t i m s o f g ro s s h u m a n r i g h t s v i o l a t i o n s i d e n t i fi e d – b a s e d o n s o l i d b u t n o t ex h a u s t i v e d o c u m e n t a t i o n• V i c t i m s l e a rn e d t h e t r u t h a b o u t w h a t h a p p e n e d • M o s t f e l t t h e i r s u ff e r i n g w a s o ffi c i a l l y re c o g n i z e d . • 1 6 , 8 0 0 a p p l i e d f o r re p a r a t i o n s a n d re c e i v e d $ 3 0 0 0 e a c h – t o d a y t h e re a re 2 0 0 l e f t w h o h a v e n o t b e e n p a i d• Va r i o u s l i b e r a t i o n m e m o r i a l h a v e b e e n b u i l t• E d u c a t i o n , M e d i c a l a n d I n f r a s t r u c t u re re g u l a t i o n s a re s t i l l b e i n g c o n s i d e re d f o r p ro m u l g a t i o n fi f t e e n y e a r s a f t e r t h e T RC
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Black White Coloured Asian Origin
% saying excellent / good job
Performance of TRC in letting the families of people know what happened to their loved ones
% saying it is TRUE that apartheid was a crime against
humanity94
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Black White Coloured Asian Origin
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The resu l t o f a l l o f th i s i s ve ry angry v i c t ims – WHY?
KEY OBSTACLES
•Obstac les• se lect ion cr i ter ia : A c losed or open l is t? • munificence: the issue of a minimum wage• re lat ion to development
But there was a deeper problem
Reparat ions const i tuted a promise to restore v ict ims to thei r r ightfu l p lace as
equal c i t izens. Dur ing the TRC, we turned the wor ld on i ts feet for a br ief moment and then a l lowed i t to fl ip back again .
As the process of reparat ions cont inued, v ict ims no longer fe l t respected, consul ted,
inc luded…
Acknowledgement• restores human dignity
• fosters citizenship and national belonging
• corrects history and creates a shared past
• complies with human rights standards.
• Symbol ic and the Mater ia l• L a c k o f b u d g e t • H u m a n d i g n i t y a n d t h e n e e d f o r a c k n o w l e d g e m e n t
• Inc lus iv i ty and Closure• W h o i s e x c l u d e d ? S A ’ s c l o s e d l i s t – i n Tu n i s i a ?• W h o s e s u ff e r i n g ? – t h e F r e e d o m P a r k M e m o r i a l a n d G a c a c a
• Accountabi l i ty and Reconci l ia t ion• S h o u l d p e r p e t r a t o r s p a y r e p a r a t i o n ?• T h e C h e s h i r e c a t s m i l e o f a p a r t h e i d l e a d e r s / M o r o c c o • W h o b e n e fi t e d ? B e n e fi c i a r i e s b e h i n d t h e i r w a l l s
Acknowledgement: A delicate balance
between
• R i g h t s i m p l y d u t i e s• N o o n e w a n t s t h e d u t y o f re p a r a t i o n s• I n t e rn a t i o n a l L a w: S t a t e h a s t h e p r i m a r y d u t y a n d y e t …• Po l i t i c a l w i l l l a c k i n g i n S A , b u t a l s o a l m o s t e v e r y w h e re e l s e : t y p i c a l exc u s e s i n c l u d e :• I t w a s a p r e v i o u s g o v e r n m e n t • I d o n ’ t a g r e e w i t h y o u r fi n d i n g s : M b e k i a n d D e K l e r k• M y r e s p o n s i b i l i t y i s 2 2 m i l l i o n S o u t h A f r i c a n s , n o t t h e T R C ’ s
2 2 t h o u s a n d : Tr e v o r M a n u e l
• Re a l i s m / i n t e g r i t y n e e d e d – T h e ro a d t o h e l l i s p a v e d w i t h g o o d i n t e n t i o n s •T h e c a s e f o r a p e rm a n e n t o v e r s i g h t a g e n c y t o
m o n i t o r re p a r a t i o n s , b o t h s y m b o l i c a n d m a t e r i a l
Whose duty then?
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Black White Coloured Asian Origin
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% support white South Africans paying some of the costs of compensating the victims
Hindsight is perfect:South Africa’s “if only”
list1. Guidelines only minimum standards
2. Guarantees of non-recurrence ensure that reparations are not superficial
3. Vital that reparations respond to victim’s needs and perspectives, rather than what we think are victims needs and perspectives = consultation
4. Acknowledgement is a vital need, throughout the process. Don’t allow it to be bureaucratised.
5. Very important to observe and establish links between reparation programs and other recourse at the disposal of victims (accountability through criminal and non criminal means and reconciliation processes).
6. Reparations in a vacuum may be meaningless, an insult to victims (“blood money”)
“If only’s” Continued
7. Important to pay attention to how will reparation programs be financed. Where? How?
8. Clear conceptions of the form and nature of reparations: individual or collective, material, symbolic or other
9. Develop a reasonable scope for reparations: integral, reasonable, adequate, non discrimination among victims
10. Closure is important: reparations delayed in reparations denied
Institute for Justice and Reconciliationwww.ijr.org.zaTel: 021-763 7128 Fax: 021-763 7138Email: [email protected]
Postal AddressPO Box 18094Wynberg,7824Cape TownSouth Africa Find us on
Blog: http://sabarometerblog.wordpress.com/
And finally: Olga Macingwane in Worcester
Reparation is important element but could also do considerable harm.
And therefore, the importance of 5 principles:• Documentation• Consultation
• Divisions and competition amongst victims • Tend to let beneficiaries off the hook
• Acknowledgment• Realistic Promises made with integrity
• Limits of legal compensation • Danger secondary traumatisation when disappointed
• An Independent overseeing mechanism