Community Justice or Ethnojustice? Engaging with Customary Mechanisms to Reintegrate Ex-Combatants in Somalia. (16th April 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ubink, Janine; Rea, Anna
• Is Part Of: International journal of transitional justice. Volume 11:Number 2(2017:Jul.)
• Page Start: 276
• Page End: 296
• Publication Date: 2017-04-16
• Subjects: customary justice systems -- reintegrating disengaged combatants -- South-Central Somalia -- Africa -- donor involvement; Justice, Administration of -- Periodicals; 340.11
• DOI: 10.1093/ijtj/ijx009
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1752-7716

Abstract

Abstract ∞ : The inclusion of customary justice mechanisms is increasingly being invoked as an answer to the top-down, externally driven approach to transitional justice. But the practice of engaging with customary justice systems (CJS) proves complicated. The approach of governments and the international community has been criticized as 'ethnojustice, ' where a male-elderly version of customary justice is invented and imposed, based on a myth of community consensus. In Somalia, the government and international community are currently considering a role for CJS in the reintegration of low-risk disengaged Al-Shabaab (AS) combatants. This article combines unique data on local perceptions regarding the return of ex-combatants in Somalia with insights from the literature, to critically examine the prospects of engaging customary justice mechanisms in South-Central Somalia in the reintegration of disengaged AS combatants and of a supporting role for the international donor community and the government.