partnering with Human Rights Center University of Khartoum Civil Coalition for Transitional Justice in Sudan Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Sudan (OHCHR). (A tripartite mechanism that comprised the United Nations, the African Union, and IGAD).
Sudanese Civil Society Coalition for Transitional Justice Narrative Report
Introduction
The civil society coalition for Transitional Justice secretariat, Al Khatim Adlan Center for Enlightenment and Human Development (KACE), in partnership with Freedom House as the primary funder, organized two connected workshops in Kampala, Uganda, from September 16-19, 2024.
First Workshop: Consultative Meeting to Develop and Update Civil Alliance Strategy 2021
Al Khatim Adlan Center for Enlightenment and Human Development (KACE) hosted a pivotal workshop in Kampala, Uganda, from September 16 to 17, 2024, at Protea Skyz Hotel. This workshop aimed to update the Civil Society Coalition for Transitional Justice Strategy 2021 to reflect the current political, security, social, and legal landscape in Sudan.
The workshop’s objective was to revitalize the coalition, align its strategy with the 2024 reality, share best practices, and develop actionable recommendations to strengthen transitional justice initiatives. Thirty (30) key stakeholders attended, including legal experts, policymakers, representatives of victims’ families, human rights defenders, and journalists.
The consultative meeting focused on developing and updating the previous Coalition Strategy of 2021. Since the coup on October 25, 2021, Sudan has faced significant challenges, including the undermining of the transitional government and the disruption of efforts to establish the Transitional Justice Commission. The outbreak of war on April 15, 2023, further exacerbated the situation, leading to widespread human rights violations.
Workshop Outputs
- An updated strategy for the Coalition for Transitional Justice, aligned with Sudan’s current reality was developed.
- Identification of gaps, needs, and future work plans to develop the coalition’s structures and activate its role in defending human rights and promoting transitional justice were laid out.
- It was agreed that focus be put on expansion of the civil coalition through new representatives, activating membership from various victims and civil society bodies
- Establishment of coordination and cooperation between civil society organizations and victims’ groups working in transitional justice in Sudan and beyond was agreed to be a priority in the new strategy.
Second workshop
The Civil coalition for Transitional Justice- Sudan convened a consultative workshop from September 18-19, 2024, at Protea Skys Hotel in Kampala, Uganda. This workshop built upon the outcomes of the previous strategy workshop held on September 16-17, 2024, and aimed to explore diverse perspectives on transitional justice in Sudan’s peace and democratic transformation processes
The workshop brought together Fifty (50) Participants, including 30 members of the Civil coalition for Transitional Justice – Sudan based in Kampala, and 20 representatives from stakeholder organizations and civil society groups. The diverse attendance ensured a comprehensive exchange of ideas and expertise.
Objectives
The workshop objectives were multifaceted as elaborated below.
- Participants reviewing and commenting on the updated Civil Alliance strategy for transitional justice.
- The workshop was to provide a platform for victims and documentation experts to share their perspectives on transitional justice in light of the current situation.
- The gathering also facilitated discussions on institutional coordination and cooperation among stakeholders, including forms of cooperation such as activity coordination, publication exchange, capacity building, and joint campaigns.
- The workshop aimed also at supporting stakeholders in developing informed positions on human rights and transitional justice.
- It also facilitated discussions and consultations enabling participants to engage deeply with transitional justice issues.
- The workshop also aimed to expand the Civil coalition membership to enhance its capacity to address transitional justice options.
The workshop on transitional justice in Sudan yielded several key outputs to design an action plan for the Civil Alliance for Transitional Justice. These include:
- Proposals and Recommendations: Various proposals and recommendations were made to structure and activate the Civil Alliance’s role in dealing with transitional justice options.
- New Members: New actors joined the Civil Alliance for Transitional Justice in Sudan, strengthening its coalition.
- Joint Advocacy Strategy: A joint advocacy strategy was adopted for civil society and victims’ groups to promote transitional justice.
- Priority Topics: Two key topics were chosen to guide future work:
- Victim and Stakeholder Priorities: Continuously surveying and prioritizing transitional justice needs in future negotiations.
- Inclusive Negotiations: Addressing mediators and facilitators to ensure transitional justice and redress for war victims are included in negotiations, including lobbying for key stakeholder representation.
Recommendations:
The workshop developed several recommendations to enhance transitional justice initiatives in Sudan, focusing on structure, ongoing response, international pressure, and capacity building.
- Structure of the Coalition
An agreement was reached among all organizations affiliated with the Civil Alliance for Transitional Justice – Sudan, along with 20 invited organizations, to maintain the Al-Khatim Adlan Center for Enlightenment as the secretariat and authorize its continued operation. Through future collaborative efforts, the alliance and secretariat will expand.
Focus Areas
- Prepare Internal Regulations: Develop regulations governing relationships between members and the alliance.
- Expand the Coalition: Encourage joining, coordination, and networking between bodies and the coalition, respecting the desires of organizations and actors.
- Reconcile Proposals: Reconcile contradictory proposals and transform general recommendations into an action plan.
- Form a Broad Front: Continue forming the broadest front comprising all transitional justice actors, considering various formation modes (joining, coordination, networking, cooperation).
- Develop the alliance charter and present it to non-affiliated bodies through a massive campaign.
- Hold a general conference showcasing previous efforts.
Structural Recommendations
- It was unanimously agreed that the coalition adopts the Civil Forum – Framework structure, featuring a 7-member expert council to oversee the secretariat.
- Allocate time for discussing the Civil Alliance for Transitional Justice – Sudan project
- Define relationships between the coalition, government bodies, and political parties, maintaining neutrality in inter-party conflicts
- Create a Google Email Group for strategy and document sharing
- Develop an inventory of old and new membership, classified by national, grassroots, and expert categories
- List organizations and initiatives outside the coalition working in transitional justice. Develop a comprehensive database of national, grassroots, and expert members.
- Map international actors in transitional justice for coordination, networking, training, financing, and advocacy purposes
- Prepare structure drafts and introduce the alliance’s history, actions, and previous efforts.
- Consult with organizations and initiatives outside the coalition to encourage joining, coordination, or networking.
Joining and Cooperation Guidelines
The vision presented at the meeting was clear and well-understood. To move forward, The following guidelines for organizations and individuals to join the coalition were proposed:
- Organizations:
Directly announce their desire to join
Submit their organization profile and authorized person’s name
Become an integral part of the coalition upon completion of these steps
- Individuals:
Declare their desire to join as national experts
- Considerations for Organizations Needing More Time
The coalition is to share an overview of the coalition, its goals, strategy, and relevant documents with undecided organizations to enable them make an informed decision to join later. They can later inform the coalition of their decision or choose coordination, networking, or another suitable form of cooperation
- Ongoing Response.
Secondly, the coalition proposes the following ongoing responses.
- Urgent Action: Issue urgent letters to both sides of the war regarding ongoing violations.
- Research and Development: Prepare research content on transitional justice to contribute to any negotiations or future transitional situations, including transitional justice within packages for resolving the Sudanese issue.
- Public Awareness: Continue raising public awareness of correct concepts about transitional justice through messages to correct any confusion about the concept, specifically regarding victims and the accused.
- Campaigns: The coalition should create new campaigns or actively contribute to ongoing campaigns, such as designing campaigns on the importance of transitional justice to ensure victims’ rights, Combating hate speech, Preventing child recruitment, ending city sieges and war. This guide the friendliness Initiative and other related initiatives to support the coalition’s work
- Influencing International and Regional Mediation Efforts
Thirdly, in regards to recommendations for Pressuring International and Regional Mediators and Political Parties to ensure the inclusion of the transitional justice agenda and representation of stakeholders in future negotiations, the coalition recommends;
- Effective Communication: Write memoranda to parties concerned with Sudan issues, highlighting the importance of transitional justice.
- Memorandum 1: Addressed to military-military negotiations
- Memorandum 2: Addressed to political-political negotiations
- Expert Collaboration: Communicate with international institutions to provide transitional justice experts for experience and expertise sharing.
- Educational Materials: Publish and distribute a booklet on basic transitional justice concepts to negotiators, facilitators, advisors, politicians, and military personnel.
- Media Strategy: Develop a parallel media plan for transitional justice, covering negotiation stages (pre-, post-, and during negotiations).
- Specialized Committee: Form a committee to submit memoranda to mediators and negotiators
- Capacity Building
To enhance transitional justice efforts, it’s crucial to develop the cognitive and representative capacities of institutions and organizations. Key target groups for capacity building include:
– Coalition Components: Enhance collaboration and coordination.
– Political Parties: Foster inclusive governance.
– Civil Society Organizations: Promote community engagement.
– Youth Organizations: Empower future leaders.
– Women’s Groups: Advance gender equality.
– Resistance Committees: Support social change.
– Grassroots Organizations: Amplify local voices.
– Civil Administrations: Improve public services.
– Religious Groups: Encourage interfaith dialogue.
– Community Leaders: Shepherd, farmers, and professionals (journalists, lawyers, doctors).
– Active Individuals: Engage citizens in transitional justice.
To achieve this, the coalition should:
– Identify national experts to benefit from, for capacity building, training, and experience sharing .
– Prepare a unified training manual (theoretical and practical).
– Establish an electronic training academy.
– Build partnerships with regional and international think tanks, leveraging open sources to Strengthen capabilities and exchange experiences before seeking new financial resources.
Prioritizing capacity building is essential, as documenting human rights violations can be costly and security intensive. The coalition must enhance its partners’ capabilities in:
– Writing professional reports.
– Providing protection.
– Assisting with funding related to documentation and protection.
- Monitoring and Documentation Recommendations
To ensure effective transitional justice, the coalition should prioritize monitoring, documentation, and follow-up.
- The coalition should document its previous work and compile its activities as part of a comprehensive documentation strategy, prioritizing the Publishing of recommendations from previous regional consultative workshops, including Voices of the Victims, outcomes of the 2023 National Conference for Transitional Justice and coalition consultative meetings (strategy) in booklet form.
- Conduct public opinion polls on transitional justice through Community dialogues and Individual interviews.
- Continue cooperation with specialized monitoring and documentation groups to avoid duplicating work, preventing harm to victims (e.g., repeated narration, memory rumination) and utilize innovative documentation methods (arts, creativity, theater, poetry), such as Salah Ahmed Ibrahim’s work on Amber Gouda.
- Establish a database to Collect and classify documents related to past and present violations by topic and region.
- Document environmental violations (mining, radiation, economic destruction) and develop an early warning mechanism.
- Organize monitoring efforts to link monitors to the International Fact-Finding Commission in Sudan (April 15, 2023, war) and leverage documentation for current and future accountability frameworks.
- Prioritize oral documentation by engaging living victims and witnesses, especially in remote areas and historical events while protecting the data from damage or destruction.
- Raising Awareness Recommendations
- Raising awareness about transitional justice is crucial among various groups, including the general public, local communities, refugee camps, decision-makers, policy makers, and their implementers. To achieve this, community dialogues, transitional justice conferences, and social media platforms should be utilized
- Additionally, cultural means such as films, theater, magazines, books, and festivals can be leveraged to convey the message.
- The Secretariat should play a key role in coordinating workshops, seminars, and ambassadorial seminars to educate stakeholders about transitional justice concepts. Partnerships with local, regional, and international media channels can also be forged to amplify the message.
- Furthermore, training observers on optimal data collection methods and sensitizing them to sensitive issues like gender, cultural and religious differences, and biases is essential. The training should emphasize the importance of relying on open sources to ensure credibility and accuracy.
- Media Plan Recommendations
Mrs. Rasha Awad, Mr. Khaled Ahmed, Mr. Ahmed Khalil, and Mr. Saleh Ammar were assigned to develop a media action plan for the Civil Alliance for Transitional Justice – Sudan within one week and submit it to the secretariat.
The key objectives with the media plan are to;
- Create Online Presence: Design websites and social media pages to promote public support for transitional justice, counter hate speech, and share personal experiences.
- Media Training: Educate media professionals and journalists on transitional justice concepts and tools.
- Advocacy Campaigns: Organize interviews, dialogues, and seminars on transitional justice issues and create related media messages and online forums.
- Publishing and Exhibitions: Produce books, publications, photo exhibitions, and films on transitional justice and human rights violations.
- Media Center: Establish a specialized media and press center for the coalition focusing on transitional justice.
- Cultural Documentation: Collect and document Sudanese traditions and customs that promote conflict resolution.
- Safe Transition: Recommendations for Peaceful Reconciliation
To achieve societal and political reconciliation, the following recommendations were made;
- Integrating native administration into traditional transitional justice mechanisms and raising awareness about transitional justice’s importance. Considerations should be drawn from previous peace agreements and reconciliation experiences, as well as past transitional justice initiatives.
- Implementation to involve identifying national, state, and local reconciliation committees and civil peace initiatives.
- Collaboration with civil initiatives to enhance capabilities, support ongoing reconciliation processes (peace markets), engage women in civil administration mechanisms, and combat hate speech.
- Transitional Justice Challenges and Recommendations
In light of the current situation in Sudan, engaging communities affected by violations in transitional justice processes is crucial. The April 15, 2023, war exacerbated social divisions, potentially impacting impartial documentation efforts. Perceptions of victims and participants in investigations and documentation are vital.
Challenges
1. Victims’ reluctance to interact with investigations due to perceived futility.
2. Security risks for observers, particularly in North Darfur.
3. Documenting historical violations lacks physical evidence or live witnesses.
4. Verifying materials published by violators.
5. Lost databases and archives due to the April 15, 2023, war.
6. Criminalization and prosecution of monitors.
7. Decreased quality of reports, lacking professional standards and exhibiting regional or biased perspectives.
Recommendations
1. Train victims and local communities in self-documentation.
2. Protect whistleblowers and witnesses.
3. Ensure digital and physical security training for activists.
4. Focus on training women in documentation processes.
5. Utilize open sources, satellite documentation, and local languages.
6. Build positive relationships with political parties.
7. Develop a comprehensive transitional justice strategy accommodating diverse sectors.
8. Leverage regional and international expertise.
Key Considerations
1. Define documentation purposes and topics.
2. Ensure neutrality, integrity, and independence.
3. Address biases and sensitivity issues.
4. Benefit from previous experiences and open sources.
5. Prioritize cultural sensitivity, gender sensitivity, and local languages.
Implementation
To overcome these obstacles, we must:
– Engage communities affected by violations in transitional justice design and implementation.
– Ensure digital and physical security training for activists.
– Focus on training women in documentation processes.
– Build positive relationships with political parties.
