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“Justice Must be Done!” Lawyers Without Borders Canada Unveils the Results of a Consultation on the Needs, Perceptions and Expectations of Victims of the Armed Conflict in Mali

By February 15, 2018News

2018 – Within the framework of the project Justice, Prevention and Reconciliation for Women, Minors and Other Persons Affected by the Malian Crisis (JUPREC), Lawyers Without Borders Canada made public a consultation report which conveys the voices of the victims of the 2012 armed conflict and sheds light on their needs, perceptions and expectations towards the implementation of inclusive and efficient transitional justice mechanisms. The full report is available here, and the summary is here (French only).

This consultation, carried out in close collaboration with many Malian civil society organizations, gathered the voices of 3755 individuals in the northern and central municipalities that were the most affected by the conflict (Gao, Ségou, Tombouctou and Mopti). The consultation was also conducted at Bamako and Koulikoro, in the south of the country, with persons displaced by the violences that continue to weaken the north of the country.

“We salute the courage of those who accepted to communicate the horrors they have lived, and those of the investigators and the civil society, who took great risks for the truth to be known and justice to be rendered. This report allows victims to effectively participate to the reconstruction of the institutions. It represents a major advance in the implementation of the Peace Agreement, and hopefully it will mark a turning point in the reconciliation and the fight against impunity in Mali”, declared Me Pascal Paradis, ASFC General Director.

The fight against impunity must be the highest priority

Victimes raised a very important amount of grave human rights violations, such as murders, massacres, incidents of torture, sexual assault, destruction and pillage of property and buildings, kidnappings and other forms of enforced disappearance.

Victims expressed frustration due to the lack of implementation of court’s decisions, the weakness of judicial services and problems with access to justice for women and minors.

They notably deplored the government’s lack of consideration, as it does not acknowledge the sufferings they still endure. They emphasized that it is essential that they can effectively participate in establishment of facts in order to avoir such acts to happen again.

The Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission ensures the victims’ implication in the justice process, for their sufferings to be acknowledged and not to be forgotten.

A synthesis report on the four multi-stakeholders dialogue workshops on transitional justice in Mali that were lead within the JUPREC project’s framework in 2016-2017 is also available. Il includes recommendations of actors from all layers of the Malian society.

Additional information

Launched in 2015, the JUPREC project was made possible thanks to the financial support of Canada’s World Affairs. It is implemented by Lawyers Without Borders Canada in consortium with the Centre for International Studies and Cooperation and the National School of Public Administration (École nationale d’administration publique).

 

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