Transitional Justice, Reconciliation and Sustainable Peace in Libya

First Published: 2011-12-06

It is impossible to discuss transitional justice in a country like Libya without reference to certain key concepts, which are all interrelated, two of which are reconciliation and sustainable peace, notes Mohamed Eljarh.

The issue of transitional justice in post-conflict Libya is increasingly important in the last few weeks with the capture of Saif Al-Islam, and the reports of 7000 foreign prisoners held in Libya with no proper legal processes taking place yet. In many cases where there has been an armed conflict between two parties in one country, there has also been some effort towards establishing different forms of transitional justice to re-establish law and order post the conflict period. The international community will need to assist Libya in its efforts to establish transitional justice, bearing in mind that some forms of justice mechanisms already exist in Libya, but also there is a void of such mechanisms. These transitional justice mechanisms are essential to stability and sustainable peace, and Libya should seek such help and advice from the international community sooner than later.

Transitional justice should be created to deal with crimes that were committed during the conflict period, at a stage where the Libyan people were at the prominence of transition from a society of conflict to one of democracy and peace, post February 17 revolution. There are wide-ranging options available to the transitional government in Libya, and the international community has offered to assist them, to tackle these crimes, this assistance ranges from applying amnesty to local ownership of these processes. 

Transitional justice mechanisms may take a number of forms. Most prominently these include the international criminal court, special courts, truth commissions, local courts and traditional methods of justice that already exist in Libya. However, in the case of Libya only the latter three are applicable; truth commissions, local courts and traditional methods of justice (with limited help from the International Criminal Court). 

The forms of transitional justice, where local ownership can be more easily established need to be examined and discussed thoroughly in the case of Libya, as the new Libyan government opted for taking the matter of transitional justice into their own hands. It is crucial to analyse different methods of transitional justice in the country , drawing on a number of cases, building on the assumption that some form of transitional justice is essential for reconciliation, future stability and peace, and moreover that it can serve to increase the sense of local ownership of the whole process of post-conflict reconstruction.

It is impossible to discuss transitional justice in a country like Libya without reference to certain key concepts, which are all interrelated, two of which are reconciliation and sustainable peace. Reconciliation is the ultimate objective in Libya for the post-conflict reconstruction processes to take place; however, it can be very vaguely defined, if at all, due to the complexity of the situation post any armed revolution. In its easiest form, reconciliation is referred to as acknowledgement and repentance from the perpetrators and forgiveness from the victims, as non-lethal co-existence, as democratic decision-making and reintegration, and as encompassing four concepts namely truth, mercy, peace and justice, concepts which in themselves are difficult to define. The new Libyan government is tasked with defining those concepts correctly to suit the reality in Libya, as well as, finding practical approaches to achieving the ultimate reconciliation required for the country to move forward. 

In the case of Libya it is essential to have distinction between national reconciliation and individual reconciliation, as we have witnessed individual reconciliation processes taking place in various Libyan towns, while national reconciliation is achieved when societal and political processes function and develop without reverting to previous patterns or the framework of the conflict. This distinction is crucial because it is possible to achieve national reconciliation without achieving individual reconciliation. National reconciliation may come at the expense of reconciliation at the individual level, although political processes may proceed and progress individuals may find greater difficulties in dealing with their experienced traumas, developed during the conflict. However, reconciliation at the individual level is also independent of reconciliation at the collective level. Moreover, some transitional justice mechanisms can promote one type of reconciliation more than others. Although there is currently a growing consensus between peace and justice, for example the emphasis on the importance of integrating justice into the peace process is clearly evident; however, reconciliation is still frequently described as incompatible with justice (therefor, reconciliation needs to be promoted to the people by designing comprehensive national campaigns for that purpose).

Finally, debates such as, justice vs. reconciliation, justice vs. peace, justice vs. truth, all emphasise that justice is retributive and reconciliation is restorative and that there is a trade-off involved. Hence, suggesting that justice in criminal proceedings context is to attain group/individual guilt followed by punishment, and this concept will not lead to reconciliation, stability or peace in Libya as required. However, there are certain mechanisms of retributive justice, as well as restorative justice, and these have proven to support reconciliation in particular contexts in post conflict environments.

Mohamed Eljarh is a UK based Libyan academic researcher and political, social development activist. He is also co-founder and Public Affairs Director of the Libyan Academy for Creativity and Innovation. He is from the city of Tobruk in Eastern Libya. Email: m.eljarh@yahoo.co.uk

Source: Middle East Online - http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=49383