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Child Soldiers and Restorative Justice pp 231–258Cite as

Transitional Justice from an African Perspective

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Abstract

African traditional society has used several approaches to conflict resolution that have combined the customary tribunal, elders’ councils, amicable family arrangements, tribal courts and intercommunity tribunals. These strategies have been marked with humanity and solidarity. In recent years, the impetus of community-based justice has increased because of large scale violence in many parts of Africa. These include domestic civil wars and transnational or regional wars, involving several countries fighting inside another country. This has been the result of a widespread erosion of African traditional values, such as Ubuntu , Ujamaa and Palaver, culminating in the recrudescence of inter-ethnic violence and civil wars. In the aftermath of such violence, also perceived as violations of international law and ancestral norms, efforts have emerged to address this crisis by adopting a comprehensive response. This is noticeable in what have developed as traditional customary models of justice and conflict settlement alternatives.

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  1. International Centre of Nonviolence, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa

    Jean Chrysostome K. Kiyala

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Correspondence to Jean Chrysostome K. Kiyala .

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Kiyala, J.C.K. (2019). Transitional Justice from an African Perspective. In: Child Soldiers and Restorative Justice. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90071-1_8

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