ASF has been active in the fight against impunity and the field of international justice for over 15 years in the DRC. During that time, the organization has witnessed great progress but regrets that current mechanisms are still not up to the challenges at stake.

The Djugu 2 trial came to an end on 1 April 2021. It concluded with 21 defendants being sentenced to life imprisonment for crimes against humanity by murder, arson, destruction, pillaging and persecution, and 11 defendants being acquitted. The 219 civil parties were also granted most of their claims for reparations, both individual and collective, including rehabilitation measures, thus breaking with the practice of awarding only damages.

ASF co-organizes an interdisciplinary conference with the Anthropology Department at MIT, and the European Network against Racism fom the 22nd to the 26th of March 2021. Over the course of five half-days, scholars, activists, and policy makers from Africa, Europe and North America will address issues related to Europe’s colonial heritage and the global demands for justice in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests. Participation is free but registration is required.

On July 24th 2020, the Truth and Dignity Commission’s (IVD) final report has finally been published in a special issue of the Official Gazette of the Tunisian Republic. This report concludes the Commission’s work, which included the hearings of nearly 62.000 victims, the transfer of 204 cases to specialized criminal chambers in charge of prosecuting the perpetrators of human rights’ violations and economic crimes.

The issue of prejudices born out of colonisation, which has long been relegated to the background of public discourse, has recently gained momentum in Europe; particularly in Belgium.

A proposal for a Truth and Reconciliation Commission is currently being debated by Belgian parliamentarians. Belgium thus has a historic opportunity to confront its colonial past, to address the underlying roots of the contemporary injustices faced by its Afro-descendant population and to establish new relationships with the formerly colonised societies.

On 17th June 2019, after a decade-long formulation and adoption process, the Government of Uganda finally announced the passing of the National Transitional Justice Policy (NTJP) and officially released it in September. The passing of the Policy is partly fulfilling the Government’s commitments on accountability and reconciliation that it made during the Juba Peace process, which started in 2006, as well as its constitutional obligations.

In Uganda, ASF has been providing continuous support to communities who have been victim of the crimes for which Kwoyelo is being tried under the International Crimes Division. Last April, ASF led joint efforts with the Victim’s Counsel, the ICD Registrar and the International Center for Transitional Justice to inform the victims’ communities of the latest trial developments, while collecting and relaying their views to relevant instances.

On Monday 24 September, the International Crimes Division (ICD) shall open the main trial in the case of Thomas Kwoyelo. This case is the first ever to be tried before a domestic court in the conflict that opposed the Lord Resistance Army and the Government of Uganda. ASF Country Director for Uganda raises concerns about the opportunity given for victims to participate and the lack of State support to the ICD.

Established in 2013 to steer the transitional justice process in Tunisia, the Truth and Dignity Commission (IVD) has begun the final year of its mandate. The first trials relating to human rights violations committed during the dictatorship will begin soon in special courts. At this crucial time, ASF co-organised a national conference last week: “The role of civil society and of the state in achieving the objectives of transitional justice post-IVD.”

Last week at the Sixteenth Session of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute, ASF and REDRESS co-organised a parallel event on the legal representation of victims before the International Criminal Court, the International Crimes Division in Uganda, and the Special Criminal Court in the Central African Republic.