Lessons Learned from 25 Years of Resistance and Remembrance
Local Solutions Have Global Impact
The scale of the violence followed by the organization of democratic elections in 2010 led to calls for accountability and reparations for survivors in the hopes of building a more just and stable future. When GIJTR began its work in the country in March 2017, however, CSOs were still developing operational skills, largely untrusting of one another and almost entirely unfamiliar with transitional justice. Over the years, GIJTR effectively strengthened the capacity of these groups to work together – often across ideological and geographic divides – on transitional justice and human rights advocacy. As part of these efforts, it supported the launch of a vibrant network of CSOs, the National Coalition in Support of Reconciliation in Guinea, or CONAREG , to collectively pursue justice and reconciliation in the country. Today, CONAREG advocates for a holistic national reconciliation process in Guinea and raises awareness on the links between past human rights abuses and contemporary violence risks with relevant actors, such as activists, journalists and religious leaders. Additionally, CONAREG advocates with state authorities for the creation of a truth commission and other transitional justice mechanisms, and, as a result, two project partners have been named to Guinea’s National Commission for Reconciliation.
GIJTR supports over 85 Guinean CSO representatives, survivors, religious leaders and journalists, and has funded several high-impact memorialization projects, including survivor databases; oral histories; and portraits depicting human rights abuses committed against young people during pro-democracy protests, among others. Resources that emerged from these projects are stored in an online archive, ensuring a digital repository is accessible to students, researchers, survivors and CSOs interested in transitional justice issues in Guinea.
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