Download
the report here
The civil war in Sierra Leone left behind a trail of human
rights violations, a traumatised population, and broken down
communities. No less than sixteen specific categories of violations
were identified by a report made by the Truth and Reconciliation
Commission. Most of these violations may be characterised as
torture or organized violence (TOV), including physical and
psychological torture and maiming, forced witnessing of TOV,
abduction of boys and girls to serve as child soldiers and/or sex
slaves, rape, abduction of women to serve as sex slaves, arbitrary
detention, looting, and extortion. The estimated number of people
killed was approximately 20,000; 1,600 were maimed, close to half a
million were refugees in neighbouring West African countries, and
an estimated 2 million persons were internally displaced.
In order to restore a society based on the rule of law and to
support reconciliation after these atrocities, two transitional
justice mechanisms were established in Sierra Leone, partly
overlapping in time: the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and
the Special Court for Sierra Leone. The present study has focused
on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, predominantly on
generating knowledge on about its role in community re-integration
processes, and about interventions in support of them, if any,
based on such knowledge.
The overall objective of the present study was to document and
analyse the relevance of the Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation
Commission for the prevention of torture and organised violence
(TOV) in 8 selected communities. This was done with a view to
generating knowledge that may inform and shape future civil society
interventions and advocacy in order to prevent TOV.
To the vast majority the commission is seen as relevant for the
prevention of TOV by inspiring and re-energizing already existing
and to some extent already functioning local reconciliation
practices and institutions. Among other the study unveiled the
important role of local reconciliation initiatives in promoting
co-existence in the communities, especially between victims and
perpetrators. Various traditional methods were employed locally to
heal war wounds and ensure social cohesion once again among various
settlements. These methods include: organising sporting activities,
sustained religious teachings, organising communal dance and
discos, joint agricultural ventures, formation of youth groups,
counselling from elders, formation of cooperatives, consultative
meetings, secrete societies, and matrimony. In the end local
reconciliation processes may inform civil society interventions and
advocacy to prevent TOV.
Over half of the participants indicated that victims and
perpetrators were able to co-exist in the communities and even
reconcile after the war. However, they also stressed the need for
timely reparation in the widest sense in order to consolidate the
gains from the processes of reconciliation. This includes
addressing the plight of victims and perpetrators simultaneously in
a re-integration effort.
It may be concluded from the study that such re-integration and
reconciliation efforts are not one-off events such as the Truth and
Reconciliation Commission, but they must be addressed continuously
at national and regional levels and not least by the communities
themselves, by strengthening and energizing local mechanisms and
processes for sustainable community healing and
rehabilitation.
Of particular importance is the study's recommendation to address
the extensive physical and psycho-social needs of victims or
survivors of torture and organized violence.
Written by Heidi K. Tokle