On the occasion of the international RJ Week, the Faculty of Social Sciences at the KU Leuven is organising a public talk by Brandon Hamber from Ulster University in Belfast, Northern Ireland, entitled: “Victims and Transitional Justice: Progress or More of the Same?“. Brandon Hamber will explore the complex relationships between recovery from political violence and the psychological processes that accompany widespread social change, drawing on experiences in South Africa and Northern Ireland. Read below the full abstract and biography.
This initiative is organised together with our individual member Peter Vermeersch, professor of politics
at the Leuven International and European Studies (LINES), at the Faculty of Social Sciences (Parkstraat 45, Leuven, room 00.113) on 19 November 2018, from 12am to 1pm. Free and open to the public, no registration required. For more info write Peter Vermeersch.
Abstract:
Nearly a decade ago I wrote, reflecting on the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, that a rights-based approach to the needs of victims remains underdeveloped morally, ethically, legally and, more critically, in practice, in the transitional justice field. This talk will consider if in fact we have advanced the issue of victim rights in the transitional justice field. The talk will explore the complex relationships between recovery from political violence and the psychological processes that accompany widespread social change, showing how these can be integrated to strengthen and serve a restorative function for both individuals and society. The talk will draw on experience in South Africa and Northern Ireland, and other comparative examples, to examine the social, cultural, and identity issues involved in meeting the needs of victims.
Biography:
Professor Brandon Hamber is the John Hume and Thomas P. O’Neill Chair in Peace at Ulster University based at the International Conflict Research Institute (INCORE). He is also a member of the Transitional Justice Institute at the university, and is a Visiting Professor of the African Centre for Migration and Society at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa. He has undertaken consulting and research work, and participated in various peace and reconciliation initiatives in Northern Ireland, South Africa, Liberia, Mozambique, Bosnia, Colombia, the Basque Country and Sierra Leone, among others. He has published some 30 journal articles, over 25 book chapters and 4 books. In 2010-2013 he was a Mellon Distinguished Visiting Scholar at University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. He has been awarded The Paul Harris medal for contributions to peace by Rotary (2013), and was listed as one of the Top 100: The most influential people in armed violence reduction by the Action on Armed Violence Network (2013/2014). Professor Hamber is a board member of Healing Through Remembering (Northern Ireland) and Impunity Watch (Netherlands). He is on the Society Advisory Group of the British Council.
