Workshops and Courses

The ICTJ runs regular 3-5 day training courses, in English and French aimed at NGOs leaders, universities, diplomatic staff, and graduate/law students.

Current offerings:

Cape Town, South Africa, September 15 - 19, 2008:

Workshop on Transitional Justice and Development in Africa Workshop Details

Brussels, Belgium, November 12- 14, 2008:

The ICTJ Essentials Course Course Details

 

Workshop on Transitional Justice and Development in Africa | Cape Town

Cape Town, South Africa

September 15 - 19, 2008

Application deadline: 31 July 2008

(Click here to download application)

 

Introduction

From 15 to 19 September 2008, the ICTJ will host a training workshop, sponsored by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), on Transitional Justice and Development, in Cape Town, South Africa. This will be the final in a series of three workshops aiming to increase understanding of the relationship between concepts and theories of transitional justice and development. The theme of the workshop will be "Enhancing socio-economic justice in societies in transition: Case studies on the African continent." It will explore the possibilities and limitation of the interaction between transitional justice and development and examine whether transitional justice mechanisms can effectively address and respond to patterns of historical exclusion and inequalities as well as systematically include a focus on economic, cultural and social rights as a way forward in ensuring a more equitable future in societies in transition.

Background

Transitional justice can be described as the efforts adopted in post-conflict and post-authoritarian states to address legacies of massive atrocities or human rights abuses. It is based on the premise that strategies to confront past human rights abuses, depending on the specifics of the local context, can address the underlying causes of abuse and contribute to accountability, the reconstruction of state-citizen relationships, and the creation of democratic institutions. In the immediate aftermath of conflict, development practitioners are equally interested in the prevention of renewed hostilities. Development programs are forced to consider the reality of a war-torn society and to conceive development strategies that help to overcome existing cleavages rather than perpetuate or aggravate them. As such, transitional justice and development often share many of the same goals and concerns.

Transitional justice is often carried out in a context of poorly developed social and economic institutions, sparse resources, and countless competing needs, yet practitioners and the literature of both fields have focused more on the political than on the socioeconomic aspects of transitional justice and development. On the African continent, armed conflict and humanitarian disasters negatively affect development, and transitional states face difficult decisions about where to place available resources. The New Africa's Partnership for Development (NEPAD) reflects African leaders' commitment and recognises the complex nature of socioeconomic development in Africa. NEPAD considers the conditions for sustainable development to include peace, security, democracy, good governance, human rights. NEPAD has also endorsed the Millennium Development Goals by bringing them into its Framework documents. This workshop highlights the critical importance of examining the effect of transitional justice tools and policies on socioeconomic development, as well as the impact that socioeconomic development may exert on the design and implementation of transitional justice mechanisms in Africa.

Objective and Topics

The major objectives of the workshop are:

1. Understand the goals, concerns and relationship between transitional justice and socioeconomic development in Africa;
2. Analyze how transitional justice measures have impacted on and been impacted by programs of development in Africa;
3. Consideration of whether and how transitional justice can be broaden to give wider considerations to analyses that focus on culture and social justice,
4. Gather perspectives on how development efforts and transitional justice measures can promote a common agenda of reconciliation;
5. Identify best practices, creative approaches, and guidelines for combining development and transitional justice into a comprehensive post-conflict policy;
6. Describe initiatives that can be designed and implemented to positively reinforce a common set of goals within the African context;
7. Foster a network of experts on transitional justice and socioeconomic development in Africa;
8. Publish workshop papers and proceedings.

 

To meet these objectives, individual speakers and panels of experts will discuss the following:

1. Transitional justice and the treatment of the underlying causes and consequences of conflict;
2. Special session on South Africa's transition - critical reflections;
3. Assessing the tangible benefits of transitional justice mechanisms;
4. Transitional justice, equity and non-discriminatory institutional reform programs;
5. Lessons for current and future transitional justice mechanisms: designing reparations programs: laying the foundation for an equitable development program;
6. The pursuit of socioeconomic justice in post-conflict recovery mechanisms and in international aid mechanisms.

 

Participation

Participants will come from the governments, donor agencies, academic institutions and civil society organisations of countries in transition or post-transition. Workshop speakers will be the leading academics and practitioners in transitional justice and development  within and outside of Africa. Representatives of regional organisations will also be invited. The workshop targets participation from Uganda, Sierra Leone, DRC, Angola, Mozambique, Rwanda, Burundi, Liberia, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Kenya.

To apply for the workshop, please submit the attached application form to paddyclark@ictj.org.za. The deadline for applications is 31 July 2008.

For the complete ICTJ-JICA Workshop Concept Paper, please email paddyclark@ictj.org.za.

Workshop Application

 

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The ICTJ Essentials Course |Brussels

SPOTLIGHT ON THE EUROPEAN EXPERIENCE

The Brussels office of the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ), in association with the KU Leuven Faculty of Law, is pleased to announce a new course entitled The Essentials Course on Transitional Justice: Spotlight on the European Experience.

This unique course is similar to the standard ICTJ Essentials Course, but will have a distinctly European "flavour." In the thematic session, the mechanisms of transitional justice will be examined through a deliberately European lens. In addition, all of the case studies in the course are drawn from European experiences. We have selected a number of historical and contemporary cases that will serve to illustrate both the variety and distinctiveness of European approaches to transitional justice. Please consult the course programme for full details.

The course is primarily targeted at mid-level and senior staff of multilateral agencies, governments, NGOs, foundations, and universities whose profession exposes them to transitional justice and who cannot spare long periods away from their jobs and families. Applicants need not be European.

The course will be offered from November 12 to 14 inclusive. The language of instruction is English.

The course fee is 500 Euros, payable within 15 business days following admission into the course. (Arrangements for payment will be described in the acceptance letters sent to successful applicants.)  The fee includes the cost of coffee breaks, lunches, and course materials.

The venue for the course is the historic Irish College in Leuven, Belgium (www.louvaininstitute.com), which is located just outside of Brussels. Participants must make their own accommodation arrangements with the College (under the Essentials Course group reservation). Participants are also at liberty to make alternative lodging arrangements for themselves.

Applications are due on or before September 5. Decisions on these applications will be communicated on or before September 19. The course is limited to a maximum of 30 participants.

Upon arrival at the course, participants will receive a binder of relevant readings, which they may use as references during and after the course.

Although the ICTJ does not cover participants' travel, visa, accommodation or insurance costs, upon request it will provide letters in support of participants' visa applications.

All participants will receive a certificate attesting to their participation in the course.

To apply for the course, please submit a brief cover letter, CV, and the attached application form to bxlessentials@ictj.org. In light of the large number of applications we usually receive, we will only be in a position to communicate decisions on applications to successful candidates.

Course Application | Course Program

 

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(Updated July 2008)