"A tree is known by its fruit": child participation in transitional justice in Rwanda.

“一树知其果”：儿童参与卢旺达过渡时期司法。

• 批准号: ES/Y008715/1
• 负责人: Jeannette Rodgers
• 金额: $ 15.71万
• 依托单位: King's College London
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Fellowship
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=ES%2FY008715%2F1
• 关键词: tree; known; its; fruit; child

To recover from atrocity and large-scale human rights abuses, individuals, communities and societies face hugely complex challenges, including understanding what has happened, how to hold those responsible to account, how to transform the systems of power that contributed to the violence, and how to build (or rebuild) trust (Cohen, 2020, p1). Transitional justice refers to those mechanisms designed to help a society come to terms with a legacy of large-scale human rights abuses (UNSC, 2004). Such mechanisms include criminal accountability, truth telling, memory preservation, acknowledgement, reparations, and the strengthening of democratic institutions (Rodgers, 2021). In addition, many societies have developed and implemented their own ways of dealing with past abuses, which take into account local political, economic, social and cultural contexts (Aptel and Ladisch, 2011). At their core, all such mechanisms must "ensure accountability, serve justice, and achieve reconciliation" (UNSC, 2004). The purpose of transitional justice is therefore based on "a series of promises to society and to individuals: of a reformed state, of accountability, of reconciliation, of rights, and fundamentally, of change" (Miller, 2008).The fellowship extends on previous research examining how and why the participation of children can, and should, be facilitated in transitional justice. A limited number of studies in various global contexts have shown that children have a strong desire to be heard in mechanisms of transitional justice, yet transitional justice policy and practice has so far failed to support participation from children under the age of eighteen in a consistent and meaningful way. Arguing that the participation of children in transitional justice must be built on a sound understanding of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (particularly article 12 of the Convention, which states that every child has the right to express their views, feelings and wishes in all matters affecting them and to have their views considered and taken seriously), I stress the importance of viewing the participation of children as a vital, long-term contributor to lasting change. Using a child-rights framework, I make it clear that children should not only have a voice in decisions, but also be recognised for their capacity to change society according to their ideas and perspectives (Berkley and Lister, 2020). In turn, this would give children a voice and a space for acknowledgement and justice, both now and in (and for) future generations (Aptel and Ladisch, 2011). With particular reference to fieldwork undertaken with children ('youth') in Rwanda, the planned monograph is an original contribution to scholarship on transitional justice from the interdisciplinary perspective, and will serve as a key resource for future efforts to bring children's views to bear on transitional justice policy and practice. Moreover, planned knowledge exchange workshops with researchers, policymakers and practitioners will focus on how the views of children add relevant perspectives and experience, and therefore should be considered in transitional justice decision-making, and why such an objective is attainable if strategies are systematically implemented and a culture of respect for children and their views is built (UN CRC, General Comment 12, paragraph 136). The Fellowship also provides the opportunity to develop funding bids for the War Studies Department and the Dickson Poon School of Law at King's, making much-needed original contributions to the under-researched area of child participation in transitional justice. Moreover, limited new research with stakeholders in Rwanda, specifically those who work in transitional justice research, policy and practice, will inform a set of updated recommendations for the monograph.

为了从暴行和大规模侵犯人权行为中恢复过来，个人，社区和社会面临着非常复杂的挑战，包括了解发生了什么，如何追究责任人的责任，如何改变导致暴力的权力体系，以及如何建立（或重建）信任（科恩，2020年，第1页）。过渡时期司法是指那些旨在帮助社会接受大规模侵犯人权遗留问题的机制（联合国安理会，2004年）。这些机制包括追究刑事责任、说明真相、保存记忆、承认、赔偿和加强民主机构（Rodgers，2021年）。此外，许多社会制定并实施了自己的处理以往侵权行为的方式，这些方式考虑到了当地的政治、经济、社会和文化背景（Aptel和Ladisch，2011年）。所有这些机制的核心都必须“确保问责、伸张正义和实现和解”（联合国安理会，2004年）。因此，过渡时期司法的目的是基于“对社会和个人的一系列承诺：一个改革后的国家、问责制、和解、权利，以及根本上的变革”（米勒，2008年）。在各种全球背景下进行的数量有限的研究表明，儿童强烈希望在过渡时期司法机制中表达意见，但过渡时期司法政策和做法迄今未能以一贯和有意义的方式支持18岁以下儿童的参与。认为儿童参与过渡时期司法必须建立在对《联合国儿童权利公约》的正确理解之上，（特别是《公约》第12条，该条规定，每个儿童都有权对影响到他们的一切事项表达自己的意见、感情和愿望，并有权使他们的意见得到考虑和认真对待），我强调，必须将儿童的参与视为持久变革的一个至关重要的长期因素。使用儿童权利框架，我清楚地表明，儿童不仅应该在决策中有发言权，而且应该根据他们的想法和观点来认识他们改变社会的能力（伯克利和李斯特，2020）。反过来，这将使儿童有发言权，并为现在和后代（以及为后代）获得承认和正义提供空间（Aptel和Ladisch，2011年）。计划中的专著特别提到在卢旺达对儿童（“青年”）开展的实地工作，是从跨学科角度对过渡时期司法研究的一个原创性贡献，将成为今后努力将儿童的观点纳入过渡时期司法政策和实践的一个关键资源。此外，计划与研究人员、政策制定者和从业人员举行的知识交流研讨会将侧重于儿童的意见如何增加相关的观点和经验，因此在过渡时期司法决策中应予以考虑，以及为什么如果系统地执行战略和建立尊重儿童及其意见的文化，就可以实现这一目标（联合国儿童权利委员会，第12号一般性意见，第136段）。该研究金还提供了机会，为战争研究系和国王大学Dickson Poon法学院制定资助申请，为儿童参与过渡时期司法这一研究不足的领域做出急需的原创性贡献。此外，对卢旺达利益攸关方，特别是那些从事过渡时期司法研究、政策和实践的利益攸关方进行的有限的新研究将为专着的一套最新建议提供信息。