Vision of Transitional Justice for Ukraine. Intro
Liberating the temporarily occupied territories of the Crimea, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Luhansk, and Kharkiv regions of #Ukraine, and the “return to the 1991 borders” can't be the ultimate goal. In fact, this process is one of the tasks of the transition period.
#transitionaljustice #consolidation #sushtens
Intro
"- He's not a Ukrainian at all...
- I am Ukrainian!
- Not a Ukrainian! You're from the East!
- No, Seryoha, he is also a Ukrainian, and you, we are all Ukrainians, you hear, and we must respect each other!"
(from a verbal conflict between children in the yard of my house, summer 2024).
Russia's hybrid aggressive war against Ukraine has been going on for over 11 years. Obviously, we cannot count on Ukraine's final military victory in the near future. In addition, a triumph on the battlefield does not always equal a full-fledged triumph of democracy, as the confrontation, as always, takes place not only on the front line. Given that for the past decade Kyiv has been declaring in word and deed its course of integration into pro-democratic Euro-Atlantic associations, one should ask what Ukraine will ultimately face when it celebrates the moment of victory.
When recalling the events of 11 years ago, it is always necessary to keep in mind that the Euromaidan protests returned Ukraine to a “healthy” branch of socio-political development. The course of the Revolution of Dignity and the Russian occupation of Crimea and parts of Donbas have actually confirmed that the Ukrainian nation can be strong and successful if it chooses the camp of Western democracies. Today, in fact, there is a struggle between good and evil, and Ukraine should be seen as an example of a democratic society in the face of cataclysmic events. Russia's crimes are wounding Ukrainian democracy now, sowing the seeds of new threats and fueling existing ones.
At the same time, we should not forget that Ukraine is still in a state of transit between a Soviet man-hating autocracy and a pro-democratic, human-centered system. Cases of inadequate legislation, weakened by corruption and incompetence of law-making, law enforcement and controlling institutions, lack of open dialogue between the government and society, and, most importantly, the declarative nature of the rule of law demonstrate the political vulnerability of the Ukrainian nation. The constant backdrop of war threatens to lead to a state of failed democracy, which in turn could eventually result in a critical level of public discontent and a hot or cold coup d'état. It may happen that the regime that comes to power on the bayonets of controlled chaos will abandon the previous vector, declaring, for example, that it has chosen a “third way” (far-right authoritarianism) or a course of reconciliation with Moscow (pro-Russian revanchism). Without institutional reforms, without a transition to real rule of law, Ukraine will obviously lose Western support in repelling Russian aggression, which, as in the case of “alliance” with Russia, could eventually lead to Ukraine's transformation into a failed state or loss of statehood.
In order not to bury the achievements of post-revolutionary democratic reforms by repeating, say, the fate of Germany in the interwar period, Ukraine can, among other things, develop a full-fledged national model of transitional justice (transitional justice) now, during the war, and begin implementing it, thus preparing for life after the war.
What is transitional justice?
Transitional justice is an approach to systematic or massive human rights violations that aims to both redress the harm caused to victims of such violations and create/strengthen opportunities for transformation (transit, transition) of the socio-political system, overcoming the consequences of conflict and other preconditions for such violations. Thus, transitional justice has two goals. The first is to achieve a certain level of justice for victims. The second is to strengthen the opportunities for understanding and unity of society, and to restore the rule of law.
Transitional justice is not a special form of justice per se. Rather, it refers to the restoration of justice adapted to the unique conditions of a society that is in transition from a time when human rights violations were commonplace. In some cases, this societal and state transition occurs suddenly and has obvious and profound consequences. In others, it can last for decades.
According to the UN, transitional justice is “the full range of processes and mechanisms related to a society's attempt to cope with the consequences of large-scale violations and abuses in the past in order to ensure accountability, justice and reconciliation”. As noted by the first UN Special Rapporteur on the Promotion of Truth, Justice, Reparation and Guarantees of Non-Recurrence, P. de Greiff, transitional justice aims to recognize victims of past offenses as rights holders, to build trust between people in society and people's trust in state institutions, and to strengthen respect for human rights and promote the rule of law. Also, according to the former Special Rapporteur, there is no such thing as transitional justice - “there are only concepts of what justice means when it is applied to transitional situations”. By the way, today P. de Greiff is a member of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Violations in Ukraine, established by the UN Human Rights Council to investigate all possible crimes related to Russia's military aggression.
Transitional justice is based on the requirements of four branches of international law: humanitarian, criminal, refugee and, of course, human rights. According to these customary and treaty norms, states are obliged to provide victims of violations with effective remedies, satisfying their rights to truth, justice, reparation, and non-recurrence of violations of their rights. In order for these obligations to be fulfilled and for transitional justice to effectively contribute to sustainable peace and mutual understanding in society, comprehensive approaches need to be developed and implemented.
tbc.
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