The ATJLF’s approach to supporting transitional justice in West Africa, will be community-centred and transformational. Our approach is built on the premise that transitional justice processes work better, have higher level of legitimacy, and are likely to succeed when there is an inclusive process, increased awareness among citizens and the general public, and when there is genuine community ownership. Our aim is to amplify the role of communities in transitional justice processes. We will undertake a multi-pronged approach to achieving this goal.
Firstly, through grant-making. The fund will invest seventy percent (70%) of its financial resources and technical capacity to supporting projects and initiatives that are geared towards rebuilding communities, empowering citizens and transforming societies in transition from conflicts or dictatorships. We aim to fund African-centered and innovative community projects and initiatives that fall within one or all of the thematic pillars outlined below.
The second approach is collaboration and network building on transitional justice in West Africa and beyond. The ATJF is aware of the multiple initiatives and interventions on transitional justice that are ongoing in the selected countries in West Africa as well as across the continent. To prevent duplications therefore, the ATJF will seek to collaborate with new and existing actors in the field of transitional justice in West Africa and beyond. We will seek to build on existing gains and add value to ongoing or upcoming initiatives by forming strategic partnerships, building networks and joining collectives, with a view to promoting genuine accountability, locally relevant justice, contextually driven reconciliation and transformative reparations.
We are mindful of the varied outcomes that each country’s transitional justice process will produce, and we recognize the various stages that the selected countries are at with their transitional justice mechanisms. The ATJF’s approach therefore, is to ensure and encourage coherence (albeit in diversity) in the application of transitional justice frameworks that are suitable for the countries and contexts in which they are being implemented.