"This work is arranged into six chapters. Beyond the introduction, chapter two highlights atrocities of the war and evaluates the diplomacy process, which eventually resulted in the creation of the TRC. It briefly examines the Abidjan and Conakry Peace Plan and specifically elaborates on the Lome Peace Accord, which finally culminated in the promulgation of the Truth and Reconciliation Act of 2000. The human rights and humanitarian law dimension of the conflict will also be addressed. Chapter three gives a general description of truth commissions and analyse the TRC with specific refernce to its structure, function, jurisdiction, mandate, proceedings, evidence, and its investigative methods, which is the backbone of the Truth Commission. It will aslo assess whether naming names would be a potent tool for the Commission to bring perpetrators to shame. From a human rights perspective chapter four address issues such as healing and reconciliation, truth, forgiveness, and assesses whether they are effective remedies for human rights violations. The issue of amnesty, especially Article IX of the Lome Peace Accord, will be evaluated. This chapter will also discuss the issue of impunity. Chapter five deliberates on the relationship between tribunals and truth commissions generally and specifically elaborate on the TRC and the Special Court with specific reference to their legal framework, composition, jurisdiction, information sharing, and whether both institutions serve as accountability mechanisms. Chapter six concludes the dissertation by determining whether or not there are any lessons one can learn from the Commission. It closes by making recommendations for the smooth functioning of the Commission and how it can effectively contribute to the needs of traumatised societies." -- Chapter 1. / Prepared under the supervision of Dr. Jean Allain at the Department of Political Sciences, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, the American University in Cairo, Egypt / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2003. / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/academic_pro/llm1/dissertations.html / Centre for Human Rights / LLM

Do peace agreements have an effect on police misconduct? This thesis researches the impact of peace agreements on police misconduct in post-conflict settings, focusing specifically on the occurrence of police misconduct following the 2016 peace agreement between the Colombian government and FARC-EP. The study aims to determine whether peace agreements can lead to a reduction in police misconduct due to their transformative potential in reshaping police practices towards a human rights-aligned framework. By employing a large-n quantitative analysis on an original dataset, this research examines the relationship between peace agreements and police misconduct through various regression models. Findings suggest that the implementation of peace agreements correlates with a reduction in police misconduct, supporting the hypothesis that such agreements extend beyond the formal ending of the conflict by catalyzing a realignment of policing practices towards a more human rights-aligned framework. I argue this transformation, combined with strengthened accountability and oversight mechanisms, results in a shift in police conduct. This study fills a critical gap in the literature on post-conflict settings and offers empirical evidence on the broader implications of peace agreements on state institutions, particularly policing bodies.

La justice transitionnelle est l’instrument juridique qu’a permis á la Colombie comme État, de sortir d’un long période de conflit armé et d’instaurer la paix dans son territoire. Cet outil utilisé par le gouvernement colombien et qui développe mécanismes juridiques et politiques appliqués dans ses processus de paix, doit être analysé sous différents angles. La première partie fait une étude des fondements théoriques des droits qui composent la justice transitionnelle comme la vérité, la justice et la réparation selon les instruments internationaux et la jurisprudence constitutionnelle colombienne et internationale. Dans cette partie les mécanismes qui rendent ces droits effectifs sont également analysés. L’étude de la deuxième partie propose un regard sur les deux étapes de la mise en œuvre du modèle colombien de justice transitionnelle. Ces étapes ont été appliquées par différents gouvernements du pays et dans de circonstances différentes. Cette analyse part tout d’abord, sur le développement de la nommé Loi de Justice et Paix de l’année 2005, ses caractéristiques et difficultés dans le processus avec les paramilitaires, pour ensuite se consacrer à la seconde étape du modèle qui á été mise en place pour donner suite à l’accord de paix signé entre le gouvernement colombien et la guérilla des FARC en 2016. / The transitional justice is the legal system that allowed Colombia as a State to overcome a long period of armed conflict and to find peace. This system, used by the Colombian government to develop political and legal mechanisms applied to peace processes, must be analyzed from different angles. The first section studies the theoretical foundations of the rights that compose transitional justice, such as the truth, the justice and the reparation, according to international instruments and both the Colombian and international constitutional rulings. In this section the mechanisms that make effective the rights are analyzed equally. The study of the second section is a look at the two stages of the Colombian transitional justice model implementation. These stages were applied by different governments of the country and with different circumstances. This analysis is, on the one hand the development of the so-called Justice and Peace Law of 2005, its characteristics and difficulties within the process with the paramilitaries. On the other hand, the second stage of the model was consecrated to enable the development of the peace agreement signed by the Colombian government and the FARC guerrilla in 2016.

This study aims to investigate the democracy development i Bosnia and Herzegovina. Since 1995, when the Dayton Peace Agreement was signed, Bosnia has been undergoing an democratization, but despite that the country is still year 2017 classified as ”partly free”. In this study the democracy-enhancing factors: civil society and the political system are being related to the Dayton Peace Agreement and are tested against liberal democratic values and Consociational Democracy theory. This study is a qualitative case study and following questions are being looked into:   -       Which factors within the civil society and political system limit the democracy development in Bosnia and Herzegovina? -       To what extent does the Dayton Peace Agreement limit Bosnia and Herzegovina’s democracy development? -       To what extent is Bosnia and Herzegovina an Consociational Democracy?   The fact that Bosnia has a divided and multiethnic society puts a foundational ground for a possible consolidated consociational democracy. Furthermore, the functions of the civil society, political system and the Dayton Peace Agreement are being discussed and the shortcomings of each are being highlighted. The results of this study indicate that Bosnia’s long democratization development is primarly based on the unwillingness to cooperation between the three constitutional groups, the exclusion of minority groups and the Dayton Peace Agreement’s regulations on a political system that is not sustainable for a stable democratic state.

For the past two decades, statebuilding has been the object of a growing attention from practitioners and scholars alike. ‘International statebuilding’, as its dominant approach or model guiding the practices of national and international actors, has sparked numerous discussions and debates, mostly around its effectiveness (i.e. if it works) and deficiencies (i.e. why it often fails). Surprisingly, little efforts have been made to investigate what international statebuilding, in the multiple ways it is mobilized by various actors, actually produces on the political dynamics of the ‘fragile’ contexts it is supposed to support and reinforce. Using an instrumentation perspective, this dissertation addresses this gap by exploring the relationship between the micro-dynamics of the uses of international statebuilding instruments and the fragility of contexts. This exploration is articulated around five essays and as many angles to this relationship. Using the case of Hamas, Essay I explores the European Union’s (EU) terrorist labelling policy by questioning the nature and modalities of the enlisting process, its use as foreign policy tool and its consequences on its other agendas, especially its international statebuilding efforts in Palestine. Essay II examines a Belgian good governance incentive mechanism and sheds the light on the tension between the claimed apolitical and objective nature of the instrument and the politicization potential embedded in its design and modalities, naturally leading to a convoluted implementation. Essay III analyses the localization dynamics of transitional justice in Burundi and unveils the nature, diversity and rationale behind transitional justice subversion techniques mobilized by national and international actors, which have produced a triple form of injustice. Essay IV widens this scope in Burundi, developing the argument that the authoritarian trend observed in the 2010-2015 period did not only occur against international statebuilding but also through self-reinforcing subversion tactics of its appropriation. Finally, essay V deepens the reflection on appropriation by attempting to build a theory of regime consolidation through international statebuilding subversion tactics. Overall, the incremental theory building reflection of the essays converges towards the assembling of a comprehensive framework of the in-betweens of the normative diffusion of liberal democracy, the inner-workings of its operationalization through the resort to the international statebuilding instrument and the intermediary constraints or objectives of actors not only interfering with its genuine realization but also contributing to its antipode of regime consolidation, conflict dynamics and authoritarianism. / Doctorat en Sciences politiques et sociales / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

In July 1995, more than 8,000 young boys and men were executed by Bosnian Serb Forces in what was later declared a genocide in Srebrenica. In the following years, Bosnia and Herzegovina has undergone a long and difficult process of restoring peace and achieving justice and reconciliation. The country's main challenges have mainly concerned Dayton peace agreement and its division of entities and political power, tensions between parties and a structural exclusion of minorities. Following the extensive legal process, a national and international denial of the genocide, and denial of the legitimacy of the ICTY has been dominant. Other historical events like “Safe area” and UN action during the war and the occupation of Srebrenica are important factors for the development towards a democracy. The aim of this thesis is to investigate through a qualitative method the consequences of the denial of the Srebrenica genocide and its impact on the country's ability to achieve peace, justice and reconciliation. Other key concepts are sustainable peace, truth and justice in relation to human rights. Hannah Arendt's theories of total domination, tyranny and political revisionism constitutes the theoretical framework of the thesis. These theories are used to gain a deeper understanding of the concepts, their meaning and how they can be related to countries' transitional justice and achieve peace after serious war crimes. The study shows that the country is strongly affected by its history and the serious violations that the Bosnian Muslim population was subjected to during the war. The widespread denial of the genocide is an extension of suffering and human rights violations, which strongly impedes the country's ability to achieve peace, justice and reconciliation. Other results are that more knowledge is needed about the choice of legal methods after serious violations of humanitarian law. The methods discussed in the study are international tribunals and truth commissions and in which countries these are most adequate. The study has identified gaps in research regarding the understanding of the importance interpersonal relationships, dialogue and a smaller distance between political systems and citizens has for Bosnia & Herzegovina and for countries' recovery and reconciliation processes.

[pt] O recente processo de paz na Colômbia (2012-2016) figura entre um dos principais acontecimentos contemporâneos nas agendas de paz e segurança na América Latina. Em linhas gerais, as negociações e o Acordo Final delas resultante foram considerados uma história de sucesso na narrativa internacional. De um lado, resultaram no término do conflito civil de mais de cinco décadas entre o Estado colombiano e as FARC-EP. De outro, fizeram isso de acordo com as melhores práticas internacionais em resolução de conflitos e construção da paz, principalmente em termos de adereçamento das raízes estruturais do conflito e de inclusão de atores da sociedade civil local. Nosso objetivo, nessa dissertação, é colocar em xeque essa narrativa de idoneidade e sucesso em torno do processo de paz na Colômbia. Fazemos isso partindo de um ponto de referência distinto do geralmente utilizado nas abordagens acadêmicas a esse conflito, priorizando sujeitos negligenciados por essas abordagens. Nos perguntamos, então: de que maneira as lutas indígenas em torno do processo de paz na Colômbia contribuem para pensar criticamente esse processo de paz? Em nossa argumentação, um primeiro elemento ressaltado pelas lutas indígenas em torno do processo de paz colombiano é que a paz é um conceito inerentemente político, em disputa por diversos atores sociais e suas agendas. Daí, avançamos uma conceitualização da paz como peça no tabuleiro político da Colômbia, demonstrando como foi mobilizada por importantes atores da cena política do país. Um segundo elemento que, em nossa avaliação, fica evidente a partir das lutas indígenas em torno do processo de paz na Colômbia é o que aqui chamamos de Colonialidade da Paz. Trata-se da reprodução, no processo de paz, das relações de poder e hierarquias sociais da matriz colonial de poder estabelecida no sistema-mundo moderno/colonial, notadamente a partir das dimensões da colonialidade do poder, do saber e do ser. A partir dessa percepção, propomos três estratégias analíticas – o resgate do legado colonial, o desvelamento de lógicas coloniais e a abertura de espaço para as vozes, manifestações e lutas subalternas – para pensar na colonialidade da paz na Colômbia. Ao utilizá-las para abordas as lutas indígenas em torno do processo de paz, notamos narrativas de complexificação de discursos sobre a violência; limitações nos modelos de participação no processo de paz e mobilizações sociais para contrarrestar essas limitações. Notamos, então, elementos que pensamos ser providenciais para desvelar a colonialidade presente no processo de paz na Colômbia, e apontar para possíveis horizontes decoloniais em torno da paz. / [en] The recent peace process in Colombia (2012-2016) is an important event in contemporary peace and security agendas in Latin America. The negotiations and the Acuerdo de Paz in the country were celebrated in the international narrative as a success story. On the one hand, it has ended more than five decades of conflict between the Colombian state and the FARC-EP. On the other hand, they were able to do it with detailed guidelines and with a large share of the Colombian civilian population. Our objective, in this work, is to test this optimistic narrative around the peace process in Colombia. We asked how do the profits of indigenous organizations face the peace process that contributed to (re) thinking critically about this phenomenon? So, we argue, from reflections on indigenous profits, that peace is a concept in political dispute over its scope and definition. We also argue that the peace processes - notably Colombia - often reproduce speeches and practices of power and racial hierarchy proper to the coloniality of power, to know and to be. Faced with this, we have outlined three analytical strategies - the rescue of colonial historical legacies; the unveiling of colonial logics and the opening of spaces for you and subordinate agencies - which, we think, help us to understand the coloniality of peace and indigenous profits around the recent peace process in Colombia. / [es] El reciente proceso de paz en Colombia (2012-2016) es un acontecimiento importante en las agendas contemporáneas de paz y seguridad en América Latina. Las negociaciones y el Acuerdo de Paz en el país fueran celebrados en la narrativa internacional como un caso de suceso. De un lado, punieron fin a más de cinco décadas de conflicto entre el Estado colombiano y las FARC-EP. De otro, lograron hacerlo con pautas osadas y con grande participación de la población civil colombiana. Nuestro objetivo, en ese trabajo, es cuestionar esa narrativa optimista entorno del proceso de paz en Colombia. Indagamos de qué manera las luchas de organizaciones indígenas frente al proceso de paz contribuyen para (re) pensar críticamente en ese fenómeno? Así, argumentamos, a partir de reflexiones acerca de las luchas indígenas, que la paz es un concepto en disputa política acerca de su alcance y definición. Argumentamos, también, que los procesos de paz – notablemente el de Colombia – muchas veces reproducen discursos y prácticas de poder y jerarquización racial propias de la colonialidad del poder, der saber e del ser. Frente a eso, delineamos tres estrategias analíticas – el rescate de los legados históricos coloniales; el desvelamiento de lógicas coloniales y la apertura de espacios para las voces y agencias subalternas – que, pensamos, nos ayudan a comprender la colonialidad de la paz y las luchas indígenas en torno del reciente proceso de paz en Colombia.

The Peace Agreement of 2016 between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - People's Army raised hopes after decades of internal armed conflict, but the levels of violence continue to be high in rural areas. Cauca is the department of Colombia where most social leaders and human rights defenders have been killed since 2016. To resist violence, to defend life and the territories, and to uphold rule of law based on the 1991 Colombian Constitution, the Indigenous Guards of the Regional Indigenous Council of Cauca use an integral method of nonviolence in the everyday setting. The aim of this study is to understand the impact of this method, perceived by the local people, as an alternative way to create peace in Colombia with concepts defined by Johan Galtung. With a decolonial research approach, an exemplifying qualitative comparative case study with fieldwork for the data collection has been carried out in Cauca, to give voice to and learn from the local communities. The results show a complex situation of an uneven progress of conflict transformation within the department, with significant economic inequalities. The challenges of cyclical war on a small scale are occurring, as in the case of the Proyecto Nasa in the Municipality of Toribío. At once, the possibilities of using this method to break the cycles of war through the power of asymmetry have occurred by conflict resolutions of dialogs with armed actors, as in the case of the resguardo of Paletará in the Municipality of Puracé Coconuco. It is claimed that by strengthening the institution of the Indigenous Guards, the collective actions of peacekeeping and peacebuilding in the territories can improve the process of conflict transformation by revitalizing the implementation of the 2016 Peace Agreement with its territorial focus and the ethnic chapter. / El Acuerdo Final de Paz de 2016 entre el Gobierno Colombiano y las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia - Ejército del Pueblo elevó la esperanza tras décadas del conflicto armado interno, pero los niveles de violencia siguen siendo altos en las zonas rurales. El Cauca es el departamento de Colombia donde la mayoría de los lideres sociales y los defensores de derechos humanos han sido asesinados desde 2016. Para resistir a la violencia, para defender la vida y los territorios, y para mantener el Estado de Derecho basado en la Constitución Política de Colombia de 1991, el Consejo Regional Indígena del Cauca utiliza un método integral de la no-violencia en el entorno cotidiano. El objetivo de este estudio es comprender el impacto de este método, percibida por la población local, como una vía alternativa para crear paz en Colombia con conceptos definidos por Johan Galtung. Con un enfoque de investigación decolonial, un estudio de caso comparativo con trabajo de campo para la recolección de datos ha sido realizado en el Cauca, para dar voz y aprender de las comunidades locales. Los resultados muestran una situación compleja con un progreso irregular de la transformación del conflicto dentro del departamento con disparidades significativas económicas. Los desafíos con una guerra cíclica a una pequeña escala están ocurriendo; como es el caso de Proyecto Nasa en el Municipio de Toribío. A la vez, las posibilidades con el uso de este método para romper con los ciclos de guerra a través del poder asimétrico han ocurrido por la resolución de conflicto con diálogos con actores armados; como en el caso del Resguardo de Paletará en el Municipio de Puracé Coconuco. Se afirma que, por el fortalecimiento de la institución de la Guardia Indígena, las acciones colectivas del mantenimiento de la paz y la consolidación de la paz en los territorios pueden mejorar el proceso de transformación del conflicto, revitalizando la implementación del Acuerdo Final de Paz de 2016 con el enfoque territorial y el capítulo étnico.