When Hurbinek Survives. Transitional Justice and Children’s Rights: Lessons Learnt from Rwanda

Abstract

Despite the large-scale victimisation of children and youth in conflict and postconflict settings, transitional justice mechanisms have traditionally paid little attention to their needs. Even though some truth commissions have focused and shed light on abuses committed against children (for instance, the Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation Commission), these violations have usually been framed as an outcome of violence largely experienced and perpetrated by adults. The pioneering research activity conducted by Graça Machel on the ‘Impact of armed conflict on children’ has spread awareness on the fact that ‘war violates every right of the child’ and pawed the way to a child-sensitive approach to post-conflict issues. The work carried out by the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) has had valuable reverberations also in this regard, pointing out the position of children as a direct target of discriminatory apartheid policies and stressing the consequent necessity to deal with this legacy. Even though the Human Rights Violations Committee of the TRC did not directly involve children in its hearings, owing to concerns regarding their safety and the possibility of a retraumatisation of the young victims, it has triggered a major debate on the way, and extent to which, transitional justice mechanisms should take into account children's experiences in order to address their needs. Moreover, truth commissions may be able to offer children a forum in which they can actively participate in and contribute towards formulating transitional justice strategies.This opportunity, however, raises at the same time several doubts as to how to identify what transitional justice practices are best suited to participation by children. Further questions to be answered concern the potential risks of children's involvement in truth-seeking mechanisms as well as the protection measures that need to be adopted, the suitability of forms of accountability for youth previously involved in violence and the most opportune reintegration and rehabilitation measures.This represents an underexplored research field, which needs new contributions aimed at answering the abovementioned questions. Challenges regarding the linkage and involvement of children in transitional justice can also be seen as opportunities not to be missed.