Reparations, Responsibility and Victimhood in Transitional Societies

Context
Reparations have long been a legal and political tool of making amends for past wrongs in post conflict and transitional societies. In essence, reparations aim to restore what is owed, compensate for loss, acknowledge wrongs and remedy the injured. Over the past 60 years, there has been a proliferation of reparations programmes from Germany's reparations to victims of the Holocaust (80 billion DM) and the UN Claims Commission set up for the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait ($55 billion). More recently, individual perpetrators at the International Criminal Court have been ordered to provide reparations to their victims. International bodies, local courts and truth commissions have also recognised victims' right to reparations. Despite these developments, fundamental theoretical and policy questions concerning how to remedy mass violations of human rights remain.

Aims and Objectives
This project will seek to develop a theoretical and practical understanding of the relationship between reparations, responsibility and victimhood in transitional societies.

To achieve this it will:
- Examine five cross-cutting themes in Colombia, Guatemala, Nepal, Northern Ireland, Peru and Uganda of: (1) Eligibility and Complex Victimhood; (2) Reparations, Acknowledgement and Truth Recovery; (3) Victim Ownership, Mobilisation and Participation; (4) Responsibility, Accountability and the State/Non-State Axis; and (5) Finance, Feasibility and Development;
- Develop a research instrument structured around the themes above and conduct 20 semi-structured interviews in each jurisdiction with key government officials, civil society organisations, victim groups, ex-combatants, legal and political figures; and
- Conduct a review of the relevant scholarly and policy literature across a range of relevant disciplines that illuminate the five project themes.

Potential Applications and Benefits
This project will be of value to academics, civil society and international organisations. Academically, the project will help develop a thicker understanding of the relationship between reparations, responsibility and victimhood in transitional societies. These broader theoretical considerations will be explored and disseminated through a scholarly monograph, at least five journal articles or book chapters and over a dozen conference presentations.

At the level of policy and practice, this project will inform domestic debates on reparations in each of the six case studies with two bespoke reports for each jurisdiction (translated into local languages), two handbooks, and one guidelines on reparations in transitional societies. This research will also be highly relevant to international organisations like the UN, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the International Criminal Court, and the International Organisation for Migration, as well as policymakers and donors, international and regional courts and transnational civil society actors, which are involved in developing or adjudicating reparations around the world.

'Fit' with Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF)
This project aligns with the goals of the GCRF with its focus on conflict reconciliation, transitional justice and cohesive communities, and a 'human-centred' approach to conflict reconciliation. Given the focus of the research on reparations in Low/Middle Income countries and the broad range of outputs targeted at divided or marginalised populations (i.e. handbooks for civil society groups and non-state armed groups) as well as guidelines for International Organisations to aid the design of reparations programmes, we believe that this project is Official Development Assistance (ODA) compliant. Given the links between post-conflict stability, sustainable economic and societal development this research addresses an evidenced need, the primary beneficiaries of this highly impactful project will be disadvantaged populations.

Who will benefit from the research?
Beyond enhancing academia in a range of disciplines, this project will positively impact on non-academic users in the six case studies of Colombia, Guatemala, Nepal, Northern Ireland, Peru and Uganda. The primary beneficiaries will be victim groups, non-state armed actors and members of civil society and other activists in the case study jurisdictions who are engaged in advocating for and litigating on reparations. Secondary beneficiaries will include policy makers, relevant government departments, policing organisations, legal institutions and other civil society and human rights organisations in each jurisdiction. International organisations such as the International Centre for Transitional Justice, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the International Organisation for Migration who will be directly involved in the production of the project Guidelines on reparations will benefit both from the input and findings of the academic team and the publication of the Guidelines and Handbooks themselves. More broadly, the project findings and policy related outputs will be of interest to victim and ex-combatant groups, legal collectives, jurists and human rights NGOs in transitional states other than case-studies, as well as regional and international courts - such as the International Criminal Court, and other international human rights bodies and civil society actors involved in reparations work. Given the links between post-conflict stability, sustainable economic and societal development this research is Official Development Assistance (ODA) compliant and the primary beneficiaries of this project will be disadvantaged populations.

How?
As detailed in the 'Pathways to Impact' document, a mixed dissemination strategy will be used to ensure maximum impact and wide dissemination of the research findings. First, this project is designed to make a direct contribution to the lives of victims, ex-combatant groups and civil society organisations in each site. The production of two user-friendly policy reports in each jurisdiction (12 in total) is designed to 'put something back' in the societies being studied. The content of these reports will be determined by local actors during the fieldwork stage of the project and the reports will be translated into local languages. The Guidelines and Handbooks (on non-state armed groups engagement with reparations and on civil society engagement with foreign donors on reparations) will be of use to local civil society, victim and ex-combatant groups, international human rights organisations, legal collectives and other policy makers. These outputs will, for example, promote an enhanced understanding of reparations and reparation mechanisms, inform domestic and international adjudication on reparations, and through the development of a Handbook for non-state actors on reparations to engage other responsible actors beyond the state on contributing to reparations and reparation programmes in peace negotiations. More broadly, the project and its outputs will feed into international theory and practice surrounding reparations, contributing to evidence-based policy-making.

The dissemination strategy is designed to ensure maximum knowledge transfer. For example, the publication of 12 feature newspaper articles and 5 blog posts will provide a wide platform for dissemination. All research/policy outputs, the reparations law database and details of conference proceedings will be hosted on the project website and disseminated through the applicants' network of national/international contacts. Listservers such as the Network of Transitional Justice Researchers (TJNetwork) and JUSTWATCH will also be used and the project Twitter account will provide regular updates and links to outputs. Those who have participated in the research will be directly contacted and provided with soft or electronic copies of all outputs.