Post-conflict transition and development in Sierra Leone a case for the transformative-justice model

The focus of this mini-dissertation is the Sierra Leone post-conflict transitional and development process. The civil war in Sierra Leone lasted some eight years before finally ending with the signing of the LÁ²me Peace Accord on 7 July 1999. This Accord outlined the post-conflict transitional instruments to be employed in Sierra Leone, namely an investigative truth commission and a legal tribunal referred to as the Special Court. After the completion of the mandates of these two instruments, many developmental gaps still existed in post-conflict Sierra Leonean society. This particularly applied to women who continued to suffer from widespread inequalities and discrimination. This thesis suggests that a model of transformative justice, which advocates an integrated approach to postconflict transitions and the development process in general, would better have served the needs of women in Sierra Leone.

Publisher: University of Cape Town
Year of Publication: 2011