Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Transitional Justice in the Wake of Resource Wars

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Transitional Justice in Comparative Perspective

Part of the book series: Memory Politics and Transitional Justice ((MPTJ))

  • 467 Accesses

Abstract

Wars are less concerned nowadays with righting wrongs and more with accumulating assets. This change in the character of warfare has serious implications for how formal mechanisms of transitional justice should proceed if they are to improve their success record in building foundations for lasting peace. Some ameliorating factors will work better than others in enhancing the value of transitional justice. Facilitating deeper understandings among warring parties may soften antagonisms for combatants divided by sectarian or political allegiances. But it will do not do much, and certainly not much in the long term, if the combatants are fighting over access to resources. Peace is still possible, however, and truth commissions may still work to air painful grievances, but they will work better if the process is accompanied by critical ameliorating factors—incentives in this instance—that address the reasons for conflict: scarcity of access to public and private resources. The ameliorating factors include both an acknowledgment of the cultural and psychological suffering by a population as well as a legitimate means for addressing the material suffering the population has endured, before, during and subsequent to a conflict. The purpose here is not to encumber the transitional justice processes further, which are in any event burdened enough, but rather to link participation in the transitional justice exercise with economic incentives that can yield tangible benefits and, at the same time, address the root causes of the conflict.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    In a moment of remarkable candour during the early days of his march across the Congo to depose Mobutu in 1996, Laurent Kabila told a reporter that all he needed for a civil war was 10,000 men and a SAT phone. The SAT phone was to raise money from transnational mineral companies by selling off future rights to profits from mineral deposits. See Michael Ross, Booty Futures: Africa’s Civil Wars and the Futures Market for Natural Resources, July 24, 2002, http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p65343_index.html.

  2. 2.

    Mats Berdal and David Keen, “Violence and Economic Agendas in Civil Wars: Some Policy Implications” Millennium: Journal of International Studies, 26, no. 3 (1997), 795–818.

  3. 3.

    Mats Berdal and David Malone, Greed and Grievance: Economic Agendas in Civil Wars. (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2000); Paul Collier and Anke Hoeffler, Greed and Grievance in Civil War (Washington: World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 2355, 2002).

  4. 4.

    Paul Collier, “Doing Well out of War: An Economic Perspective,” in Greed and Grievance: Economic Agendas in Civil Wars, eds. Mats Berdal and David Malone (Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2000), 91.

  5. 5.

    Gerard Prunier, Africa’s World War, Congo, the Rwandan Genocide and the Making of a Continental Catastrophe (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009).

  6. 6.

    A case was filed with the International Court of Justice by the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1999 seeking reparations for armed actions by Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi on the territory of the Democratic Republic of the Uganda. In 2005, the Court ordered Uganda to pay reparations. The cases against Rwanda and Burundi were ruled out of the Court’s jurisdiction. No reparations have yet been paid.

  7. 7.

    Ngoma-Binda and Maitre Nuabda Vuidi, “Justice Transitionelle en R.D. Congo: L’experience de la Commission Verité et Reconciliation,” Congo-Afrique (Paris: L’Harmattan, 2008).

  8. 8.

    Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (Kinshasa: Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo, February 2007), 51; and Elena Naughton, “Democratic Republic of the Congo: Case Study,” Can Truth Commissions Strengthen Peace Processes? (New York: International Center for Transitional Justice and the Kofi Annan Foundation, June 2014), 54.

  9. 9.

    Report of the Panel of Experts on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and Other Forms of Wealth of the Democratic Republic of Congo S/2002/1146 (New York: United Nations Security Council, 16 October 2002).

  10. 10.

    Report of the National Commission for Unity and Reconciliation (Freetown: Government Printers, 1996), 8.

  11. 11.

    Jimmy D. Kandeh, “The Criminalization of the RUF Insurgency in Sierra Leone,” in Rethinking the Economics of War: The Intersection of Need, Creed and Greed, eds. Cynthia J. Arnson and I.W. Zartman, (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005).

  12. 12.

    Elena Naughton, “Sierra Leone: Case Study,” Can Truth Commissions Strengthen Processes? (New York: Kofi Annan Foundation and the International Centre for Transitional Justice, June 2014).

  13. 13.

    International Crisis Group, Sierra Leone’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission: A Fresh Start? (Brussels: International Crisis Group, 20 December 2002).

  14. 14.

    Some of its successes have been documented by Rosalind Shaw. But this success was limited in many ways, not the least of which is that it did little to restore social cohesion broken by the wars over the diamond. Rosalind Shaw, “Memory Frictions: Localizing the Truth and Reconciliation in Sierra Leone,” The International Journal of Transitional Justice 1, no. 2 (2007), 183–207.

  15. 15.

    Eduardo Gonzalez, “Set to Fail? Assessing Tendencies in Truth Commissions Created After Violent Conflict,” Can Truth Commissions Strengthen Peace Processes? (New York: International Transitional Justice Centre and the Kofi Annan Foundation, June 2014), 1.

  16. 16.

    Onur Bakiner, “Truth Commission Impact: An Assessment of How Commissions Influence Politics and Society,” The International Journal of Transitional Justice 8, no. 1 (2014), 30.

  17. 17.

    Matiangai V.S. Sirleaf, “Beyond Truth & Punishment in Transitional Justice,” Virginia Journal of International Law 54 (2014), 223.

  18. 18.

    David Mendeloff, “Truth-Seeking, Truth-Telling and Post-conflict Peace-Building: Curb the Enthusiasm?” International Studies Review 6, no. 3 (2004), 356.

  19. 19.

    Paul Collier, The Bottom Billion, Why the Poorest Countries Are Failing and What Can Be Done About It (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007), 32.

  20. 20.

    Lisa J. Laplante, “Transitional Justice and Peace Building: Diagnosing and Addressing the Socioeconomic Roots of Violence Through a Human Rights Framework,” The International Journal of Transitional Justice 2, no. 3 (2008), 333.

  21. 21.

    Jim Freedman, “Tackling the Tin Wars in DR Congo,” Mineral Economics, 24, no. 1 (2011), 45–53.

  22. 22.

    Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, http://www.oecd.org/daf/inv/mne/48004323.pdf.

  23. 23.

    Due Diligence Guidelines for Responsible Mineral Supply Chains, http://www.oecd.org/daf/inv/mne/OECD-Due-Diligence-Guidance-Minerals-Edition3.pdf.

  24. 24.

    The OECD hosts the Responsible Mineral Supply Chains Conference held in Paris yearly.

  25. 25.

    The Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, passed by the US Congress in July 2010, includes a provision—Section 1502—requiring US companies not to purchase minerals from rebel groups engaged in conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

  26. 26.

    See, for example, Global Witness. Blood Timber: How Europe Helped Fund War in the Central African Republic (London and Washington: Global Witness, July 2015).

  27. 27.

    David M. Malone and Jake Sherman, “Economic Factors in Civil Wars: Policy Considerations,” in Cynthia J. Arnson and I. William Zartman, eds., Rethinking the Economics of War: The Intersection of Need, Creed, and Greed (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005).

  28. 28.

    Zinaida Miller, “In Search of the Economic in Transitional Justice,” International Journal of Transitional Justice 2, no. 3 (2008), 272.

  29. 29.

    Laplante, “Transitional Justice and Peace Building,” 333.

  30. 30.

    Paul Collier. The Bottom Billion, Why the Poorest Countries Are Failing and What Can Be Done About It (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007), 34.

Bibliography

  • Bakiner, Onur. “Truth Commission Impact: An Assessment of How Commissions Influence Politics and Society.” The International Journal of Transitional Justice 8, no. 1 (2014): 6–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berdal, Mats and David Malone. Greed and Grievance: Economic Agendas in Civil Wars. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2000.

    Google Scholar 

  • Collier, Paul. The Bottom Billion, Why the Poorest Countries Are Failing and What Can Be Done About It. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007.

    Google Scholar 

  • Collier, Paul and Anke Hoeffler. Greed and Grievance in Civil War. Washington: World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 2355, 2002.

  • Collier, Paul. “Doing Well out of War: An Economic Perspective.” In Greed and Grievance: Economic Agendas in Civil Wars, edited by Mats Berdal and David Malone, 91–111, Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2000.

    Google Scholar 

  • Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Kinshasa: Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo, February 2007.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freedman, Jim. “Tackling the Tin Wars in DR Congo.” Mineral Economics 24, no. 1 (2011): 45–53.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Global Witness. Blood Timber: How Europe Helped Fund War in the Central African Republic. London and Washington: Global Witness, July 2015.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gonzalez, Eduardo. “Set to Fail? Assessing Tendencies in Truth Commissions Created After Violent Conflict.” Can Truth Commissions Strengthen Peace Processes? New York: International Transitional Justice Centre and the Kofi Annan Foundation, June 2014.

    Google Scholar 

  • International Crisis Group. Sierra Leone’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission: A Fresh Start? Brussels: International Crisis Group, 20 December 2002.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kandeh, Jimmy D. “The Criminalization of the RUF Insurgency in Sierra Leone.” In Rethinking the Economics of War: The Intersection of Need, Creed and Greed, edited by Cynthia J. Arnson and I. W. Zartman. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005.

    Google Scholar 

  • Laplante, Lisa J. “Transitional Justice and Peace Building: Diagnosing and Addressing the Socioeconomic Roots of Violence Through a Human Rights Framework.” The International Journal of Transitional Justice 2, no. 3 (2008): 331–355.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ngoma-Binda, D. and Maitre Nuabda Vuidi. “Justice Transitionelle en R.D. Congo: L’experience de la Commission VeritĂ© et Reconiliation,” Congo-Afrique 321 (2007).

    Google Scholar 

  • Malone, David M. and Jake Sherman. “Economic Factors in Civil Wars: Policy Considerations.” In Rethinking the Economics of War: The Intersection of Need, Creed, and Greed, edited by Cynthia J. Arnson and I. William Zartman. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mendeloff, David. “Truth-Seeking, Truth-Telling and Post-conflict Peace-Building: Curb the Enthusiasm?” International Studies Review 6, no. 3 (2004): 355–380.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, Zinaida. “In Search of the Economic in Transitional Justice.” International Journal of Transitional Justice 2, no. 3 (2008): 266–291.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Naughton, Elena. “Democratic Republic of the Congo: Case Study.” Can Truth Commissions Strengthen Peace Processes? New York: International Centre for Transitional Justice and the Kofi Annan Foundation, June 2014a.

    Google Scholar 

  • Naughton, Elena. “Sierra Leone: Case Study.” Can Truth Commissions Strengthen Processes? New York: Kofi Annan Foundation and the International Centre for Transitional Justice, June 2014b.

    Google Scholar 

  • Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.

    Google Scholar 

  • Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Due Diligence Guidelines for Responsible Mineral Supply Chains. http://www.oecd.org/daf/inv/mne/OECD-Due-Diligence-Guidance-Minerals-Edition3.pdf.

    Google Scholar 

  • Prunier, Gerard. Africa’s World War, Congo, the Rwandan Genocide and the Making of a Continental Catastrophe. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.

    Google Scholar 

  • Report of the Panel of Experts on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and Other Forms of Wealth of the Democratic Republic of Congo. New York: United Nations Security Council S/2002/1146, 16 October 2002.

    Google Scholar 

  • Report of the National Commission for Unity and Reconciliation. Freetown: Government Printers, 1996.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shaw, Rosalind. “Memory Frictions: Localizing the Truth and Reconciliation in Sierra Leone.” The International Journal of Transitional Justice 1, no. 2 (2007): 183–207.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sirleaf, Matiangai V.S. “Beyond Truth & Punishment in Transitional Justice.” Virginia Journal of International Law 54, no. 2 (Spring 2014): 223–294.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada

    Jim Freedman

Authors
  1. Jim Freedman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jim Freedman .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada

    Samar El-Masri

  2. The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada

    Tammy Lambert

  3. The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada

    Joanna R. Quinn

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Freedman, J. (2020). Transitional Justice in the Wake of Resource Wars. In: El-Masri, S., Lambert, T., Quinn, J. (eds) Transitional Justice in Comparative Perspective. Memory Politics and Transitional Justice. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-34917-2_6

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation