This thesis addresses accountability for mass atrocities. It presents a case study of Uganda that has undergone a two-decade conflict between the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) insurgent group and the national army, the Uganda People’s Defence Armed Forces (UPDF). The government of Uganda has initiated various accountability measures that include international and domestic prosecutions, truth telling, reparations and traditional justice to address international crimes and other human rights violations committed during the conflict. The thesis in particular investigates how all these mechanisms could be used in a way that ensures that Uganda fulfils its international obligations and that the different measures complement each other. The thesis traces the background to the conflict that began in 1986 and explores the consequences of the conflict on the civilian population in Uganda. It alludes to its spread from Uganda to South Sudan and since 2008, to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Central African Republic. It argues that the significant and continuous involvement of the government of Sudan from 1994 to 2005 internationalised the LRA conflict. It further finds that both the LRA and the UPDF perpetrated war crimes and crimes against humanity during the conflict. The thesis further discusses the international obligation of Uganda to prosecute, punish and extradite persons responsible for the commission of international crimes and to ensure remedies to victims of such crimes and other human rights violations. It finds that the lapse of Part II of the Amnesty Act that allowed for a ‘blanket amnesty’ leaves room for Uganda to fulfil its international obligations. The thesis further investigates the Agreement on Accountability and Reconciliation and its Annexure reached between the government of Uganda and the LRA in Juba that ushers in the various accountability pursuits in Uganda. It argues that the implementation and successes of the Agreement depends on the consultations, legislations, policies and the establishment and workings of the institutions envisaged that could lead to justice, truth and reparations in Uganda. The thesis finds that the different accountability measures that Uganda is pursuing correspond to the political, social and historical conditions in Uganda, in particular, decades of armed conflict and human rights violations with impunity of perpetrators. It concludes that the success of the accountability undertakings will largely depend on the high calibre of officials and staff of the different institutions and their ability to deal wisely with challenges that will inevitably arise. It further finds that a political will and commitment is essential to ensure adequate investment in technical, material and financial resources and that non-interference of the government in the work of the institutions will ensure success. It concludes that such a political will and commitment, a robust consultation with stakeholders including victim groups and the creation of alliances locally, nationally, regionally and internationally, Uganda’s accountability pursuits will lead to the desired justice, truth and reparations. / Thesis (LLD)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Centre for Human Rights / unrestricted

Crimes against humanity have become a global concern, garnering widespread media coverage over the past decade. Boko Haram's actions pose a threat to both domestic and international security, with frequent attacks on civilians, churches, security forces, and even international organizations like the United Nations. The group's impact is felt across all 36 states of Nigeria, impacting the country's socio-political and economic development. The absence of agreement on whether non-state actors can be held responsible for crimes against humanity in the same way as states, can create a potential risk of serious crimes going unpunished. As non-state actors are increasingly gaining influence and have the capacity to plan and execute widespread atrocities, it is crucial to address this issue. This research project aims to investigate whether there is an Organizational Policy behind Boko Haram’s atrocities and how it can be categorized as committing crimes against humanity under Article 7(2)(a) of the Rome Statute.

During apartheid numerous atrocities, including torture were committed by the security forces in South Africa. Most atrocities were directed at black people, during the political violence. The question which the researcher investigated was how people who worked in the police and had tortured and committed other atrocities re-established meaning and identity after South Africa became a democracy. South Africa’s history was discussed, focussing on factors which created an environment which was conducive to the committing of atrocities. The basic tenets of social constructionism were considered and how they relate to concepts such as agency, power, essentialism, identity, morality, meaning-making, torture, illness and posttraumatic stress disorder. Dialogic analyses were conducted on each participant’s narrative. The researcher is seen as an integral part of the storytelling event. The ways in which the participants positioned themselves in telling their stories are discussed as attempts to reconstitute themselves. The impact on the researcher of working with perpetrators is discussed. Themes were distilled from participants’ narratives. These are discussed with attention given to the problems they identified as having led to perpetration, such as racism, enacting of masculinity and militarisation. Problems they identified which arose as a result of perpetration include aggression, alienation, illness and addiction to violence. They demonstrated extreme shame and remorse in telling their stories. / Psychology / D.Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)

During apartheid numerous atrocities, including torture were committed by the security forces in South Africa. Most atrocities were directed at black people, during the political violence. The question which the researcher investigated was how people who worked in the police and had tortured and committed other atrocities re-established meaning and identity after South Africa became a democracy. South Africa’s history was discussed, focussing on factors which created an environment which was conducive to the committing of atrocities. The basic tenets of social constructionism were considered and how they relate to concepts such as agency, power, essentialism, identity, morality, meaning-making, torture, illness and posttraumatic stress disorder. Dialogic analyses were conducted on each participant’s narrative. The researcher is seen as an integral part of the storytelling event. The ways in which the participants positioned themselves in telling their stories are discussed as attempts to reconstitute themselves. The impact on the researcher of working with perpetrators is discussed. Themes were distilled from participants’ narratives. These are discussed with attention given to the problems they identified as having led to perpetration, such as racism, enacting of masculinity and militarisation. Problems they identified which arose as a result of perpetration include aggression, alienation, illness and addiction to violence. They demonstrated extreme shame and remorse in telling their stories. / Psychology / D.Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)

This thesis will highlight a number of traumatic memories chronologically in the history of this city. The Versailles Conference will be the beginning of the tale of these two cities in the first chapter, Danzig before 1945. The history of the interwar years reveals a severe rift between Poland and Weimar Germany over the Free city of Danzig. German memory would remember the city 's nazification, the invasion by Germany and even the relative safety during the war as traumatic through a general feeling that Nazism had been forced upon German Danzigers, resulting in their own versions of victimhood.

Lorsque des peuples émergèrent enfin d’un conflit armé interne ou international qui s’était traduit par de longues années de souffrances et d’injustice, l’accord de paix conclu entre les anciens partis antagonistes, le plus souvent le gouvernement et les forces rebelles, comporta presque toujours une amnistie des crimes de masse commis par un grand nombre de leurs partisans. Ainsi, depuis le début du vingtième siècle, plusieurs dizaines d’Etats – principalement en Amérique latine et en Afrique - adoptèrent de telles mesures, qui revêtirent un caractère polymorphe. Principalement dirigées vers les simples exécutants de violations graves du droit humanitaire, elles furent parfois prises par des dirigeants politiques autocrates qui n’étaient pas toujours animés des meilleures intentions et qui cherchaient à consolider leur pouvoir ou à se ménager une porte de sortie honorable ; considérées comme « scélérates », elles s’opposent aux amnisties « ver-tueuses » adoptées par des dirigeants démocrates qui estimèrent qu’elles constituaient l’option la plus raisonnable pour favoriser la réconciliation et le rétablissement de l’Etat de droit dans leur pays, compte tenu des circonstances.Pourtant une telle voie leur était théoriquement inter-dite puisque la communauté internationale s’est très tôt engagée dans une lutte contre l’impunité des crimes de guerre et des crimes contre l’humanité, déclarés imprescriptibles, qui ne peuvent bénéficier d’aucune mesure de clémence publique et qui doivent être réprimés par tous les Etats au nom de leur « compé-tence universelle ». Toutefois cette « posture de conviction » sur l’illégitimité des amnisties des crimes de masse au regard du droit international humanitaire se heurta souvent aux contingences du terrain. Prenant en considération l’aspiration prioritaire des peuples au retour à la paix, fut-ce au détriment du droit des victimes à la vérité, aux réparations et au recours juridictionnel, la communauté internationale composa fréquemment avec ces impératifs pour adopter un « comportement de responsabilité ». Celui-ci s’imposa d’autant plus à elle, et tout particulièrement aux Nations unies, qu’elle n’était pas en mesure de propo-ser une alternative satisfaisante à l’amnistie. Elle n’a en effet mis en place aucun mécanisme juridictionnel permettant de juger les auteurs ordinaires de crimes de masse, qui se comptent par millions. Quant aux juri-dictions internes des pays post-conflictuels, elles n’offraient généralement aucune garantie d’efficacité et d’impartialité. / InWhen the people finally emerged from an internal or international armed conflict, which resulted in lasting years of suffering and injustice, peace agreements between former opposing parties (most often the government and representatives of rebel forces) almost always included an amnesty for mass atrocities com-mitted by a large number of their supporters.Thus, since the early 20th Century, dozens of states, mainly in Latin America and Africa, adopted such measures, which assumed a polymorphic character.These amnesties, mainly directed to « low level participants » in serious violations of international humanitarian law, were often adopted by political autocrats seeking to consolidate their power, or to arrange an honourable way out. This type of amnesty, viewed as « villainous » is in complete contrast to « virtuous » amnesties adopted by democratic leaders who considered them the most appropriate option to ensure the reconciliation between communities, and to restore the rule of law in their country, given circum-stances.Both types of amnesties however, are prohibited by international conventions because the international community commits itself to struggling against impu-nity for war crimes and crimes against humanity; declared inalienable, which cannot benefit from any public leniency. The perpetrators of such serious violations of criminal humanitarian laws must be punished by all States in the name of their « universal jurisdiction ». This mind-set on the illegitimacy of amnesties for international crimes however, often encountered pressures from the military.Taking into account the aspiration of peoples’ priority for a return to peace and security, even at the expense of the rights of victims to truth, reparations and judi-cial proceedings, the international community often composed with these requirements to adopt a « respon-sible behaviour ». It is even more strongly enforced by the United Nations, as no satisfactory alternative to amnesty granted to « low level perpetrators » was offered by international criminal jurisdictions. As for the domestic courts of post-conflict countries, they generally offered no guarantee of efficiency and impartiality.

Cross-national crime studies are often plagued with conceptualization issues. In specific, some countries may define certain acts of violence as crimes, whereas others may perceive these acts as justifiable or culturally prescribed. This difference in conceptualization is especially the case with the crime of genocide, which the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide of 1948 defines “as any of a number of acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.” Despite this legal definition, countries, organizations, institutions or individuals may label a crisis as genocide, civil war, or another type of conflict. Because the printed mainstream media reflects and shapes the public perception of international conflicts, this research employs content analysis and quantitative methodology in examining published accounts of the conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan over the last five years. Using articles from newspapers in the United States, Great Britain, China, and Qatar, I examined the extent to which the term genocide is used to illustrate this conflict within the mainstream media from these four different countries. The results of this study suggest that the geographic location of a news outlet does not necessarily play a role in the conceptualization of genocide. The most important factors in this process are the way in which the author of the article frames the conflict, whether the author chooses to use quotes from certain organizational leaders, and the context in which the term genocide is used when it is chosen in favor of the term ethnic cleansing or civil war. These findings imply that news sources play a large role in public perception of genocide.

An essential and critical component of the orders German front-line formations received in the ideological war against the Soviet Union was the Commissar Order of 6 June 1941. This order, issued by the High Command of the Armed Forces prior to the German invasion of the Soviet Union, required that front-line military formations, as well as SS and police units attached to the Army, immediately execute Soviet political commissars among prisoners of war. Soviet political commissars were attached to the Red Army at virtually every operational level, and were viewed by both Hitler and the High Command as the foremost leaders of the resistance against the Nazis because of their commitment to Bolshevik ideology. According to the Commissar Order, "Commissars will not be treated as soldiers. The protection afforded by international law to prisoners of war will not apply in their case. After they have been segregated they will be liquidated." / While there is no paucity of information on the existence and intent of the Commissar Order, this directive has only been investigated by scholars as a portion of a much greater ideological portrait, or subsumed in the larger context of overall Nazi criminal activities during "Operation Barbarossa." / Examining the extent to which front-line divisions carried out the charge to shoot all grades of political commissars is necessary if we are to understand the role and depth of involvement by front-line troops of the Wehrmacht in a murderous program of extermination during the German attack and occupation of the Soviet Union. Such an examination has simply not taken place to-date. My dissertation seeks to address this issue. The result is both a narrative on the genesis of the Commissar Order and its attendant decrees and agreements between the Army leadership and the SS ( SD) and Security Police, and a quantitative analysis of how many commissars were reported captured and shot by the front-line forces of the 17th Army over a seven month period.

This thesis explores the representation of atrocities committed by the Dutch in Indonesia between 1945-1949 in a Dutch mainstream newspaper in the Netherlands. This timeframe represents the decolonisation war between the Netherlands and Indonesia, which is referred to as the Indonesian National Revolution.  From the theoretical angle, this study was created based on the foundations of Hall’s representation theory and postcolonial theory, both theories were supported by the concept of othering. The combined theoretical framework was created to uncover the representation of the committed atrocities by diving into the employed preferred and dominant meaning of the atrocities, the ‘Self’ and the ‘Other’. The methodological aspect of this thesis consists of a qualitative content analysis, semiotic analysis, which includes Hall’s denotation and connotation toolkit, and discourse analysis. The methodological framework enabled a thorough analysis of the representation and the employed discourses. For the corpus, 159 articles revolving around signs of atrocities and disruptive events within the mainstream newspaper Het Vrije Volk were chosen to thoroughly analyse the representation of the chosen preferred meanings and other discourses. The findings show that Het Vrije Volk predominantly embraced a discourse of colonial pride, which relates to the Netherlands not wanting to let go of its past colony. However, the newspaper did represent a counter-hegemonic articulation by making use of critical discourse as well from time to time. The representation of atrocities committed by the Dutch in Indonesia between 1945-1949 in a Dutch mainstream newspaper in the Netherlands is not black and white and requires a critical lens at all times.

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