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The Ministerialization of Transitional Justice

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Abstract

In recent years, countries have begun to establish ministries of transitional justice (TJ) as part of political transitions from authoritarianism to democracy or from conflict to peace. This may reflect a broader historical trend in the administration of TJ, which has evolved from isolated offices within a particular ministry to ad hoc cross-ministry coordinating bodies to the establishment of dedicated ministries. The reasons for the establishment of specific ministries to pursue TJ, what we call ministerialization, have not attracted scholarly attention. This article explores the causes and likely consequences of this development. In particular, it applies international relations, comparative politics, and public policy theories to explain the phenomenon. Contrary to some TJ literature that is concerned about hegemonic transnational (largely Western) discourse, international actors have played little to no role in shaping how TJ is bureaucratically managed. Rather, based upon fieldwork in Solomon Islands and Tunisia, the article concludes that ministerialization has been the result of domestic policy entrepreneurship. For TJ ministries to become a norm, however, more transnational actors will need to be convinced of the benefits of such an institutional arrangement.

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Notes

  1. Interviews with members of parliament conducted in Tunis in May 2015, particularly with Ennahdha parliamentary members who pointed out that European states were unwilling to apply democratic conditionality to aid, even when Ennahdha would have liked them to do so. International priorities on the part of the USA and E.U. remained on counter-terrorism and more recently migration as opposed to democratic conditionality.

  2. These included the Honiara Peace Accord, signed 28 June 1999; the Panatina Accord, signed August 12, 1999; the Moray Communique, signed July 15, 1999; an MOU signed between the Solomon Islands Government and Guadalcanal Provincial Government, signed June 13, 1999; the Buala Peace Communique, signed May 5, 2000; the Auki Communique, signed May 12, 2000; the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group meeting, June 11, 2000; Ceasefire Agreement, signed August 2 2000; the National Peace Conference held aboard the HMNZ Te Kaha, August 25–27, 2000; and the Townsville Peace Agreement, signed October 15, 2000.

  3. The Cease-Fire Monitoring Council was established as part of the Cease-Fire Agreement of August 03, 2000; the Peace Monitoring Council and the International Peace Monitoring Team were established as part of the Townsville Peace Agreement on October 15, 2000; the National Peace Council was established October 24, 2000; and the Peace and Integrity Council was established in January 2007.

  4. Hon. Sir Allen Kemakeza, Speaker of Parliament, former Minister for National Unity, Reconciliation and Peace, and former Prime Minister, interview by J. Quinn, February 2, 2014, Honiara, Solomon Islands.

  5. Sir Allen Kemakeza returned to Parliament to serve as Prime Minister 2001–2006.

  6. This was expressed by Hon. Sir Nathaniel Waena, former Minister for National Unity, Reconciliation, and Peace, interview by J. Quinn, January 28, 2014, Lengakiki, Solomon Islands; Joy Kere, former Permanent Secretary, Ministry for National Unity, Reconciliation and Peace, interview by J. Quinn, January 31, 2014, Honiara, Solomon Islands; and Hon. Sir Allen Kemakeza, interview by J. Quinn February 2, 2014, Honiara, Solomon Islands.

  7. Hon. Hypolite Taremae, Minister for National Unity, Reconciliation and Peace, interview by J. Quinn, January 31, 2014, Honiara, Solomon Islands.

  8. Lennis Rukale, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of National Unity, Reconciliation and Peace, interview by J. Quinn, January 24, 2014, Honiara, Solomon Islands.

  9. According to Fraenkel (2004, 124–25),“As successive tranches arrived, corrupt politicians and militia leaders, as well as genuinely displaced people and people with all manner of legitimate requests for payments from government, engaged in frenetic scrambles for wealth, with the result that each EXIM [Export-Import Bank] instalment was gobbled up within days. Deputy Prime Minister Kemakeza was top of the list, and received S$851,000 (US$164,754), while his Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of National Unity, Reconciliation and Peace took S$700,000 (US$145,200). They were both sacked for embezzlement.”

  10. Joy Kere, former Permanent Secretary, Ministry of National Unity, Reconciliation and Peace, interview by J. Quinn, January 31, 2014, Honiara, Solomon Islands.

  11. Anonymous international actor, interview by J. Quinn, January 28, 2014, Honiara, Solomon Islands.

  12. Lennis Rukale, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of National Unity, Reconciliation and Peace, interview by J. Quinn, January 24, 2014, Honiara, Solomon Islands.

  13. Lennis Rukale, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of National Unity, Reconciliation and Peace, interview by J. Quinn, January 24, 2014, Honiara, Solomon Islands

  14. Lennis Rukale, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of National Unity, Reconciliation and Peace, interview by J. Quinn, January 31, 2014, Honiara, Solomon Islands. This was also reflected by Masi Lomaloma, Assistant Special Coordinator, RAMSI, interview by J. Quinn, January 28, 2014, Guadalcanal Beach Resort, Henderson, Solomon Islands.

  15. Hon. Sir Allen Kemakeza, Speaker of Parliament, former Minister for National Unity, Reconciliation and Peace, and former Prime Minister, interview by J. Quinn, February 2, 2014, Honiara, Solomon Islands.

  16. Lennis Rukale, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of National Unity, Reconciliation and Peace, interview by J. Quinn, January 24, 2014, Honiara, Solomon Islands.

  17. Peter Mae, Under Secretary, Policy Planning Programme Development, Ministry of National Unity, Reconciliation and Peace, interview by J. Quinn, January 23, 2014, Honiara, Solomon Islands.

  18. Lennis Rukale, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of National Unity, Reconciliation and Peace, interview by J. Quinn, January 24, 2014, Honiara, Solomon Islands.

  19. Justine Braithwaite, Special Coordinator, RAMSI, interview by J. Quinn, January 28, 2014, Guadalcanal Beach Resort, Henderson, Solomon Islands.

  20. Dan Evans, Justice Delivered Locally Program, World Bank, interview by J. Quinn, January 17, 2014, Honiara, Solomon Islands.

  21. Lennis Rukale, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of National Unity, Reconciliation and Peace, interview by J. Quinn, January 24, 2014, Honiara, Solomon Islands.

  22. Dalila Baba, Ennahdha member of National Constituent Assembly, interviewed by C. Lamont, September 26, 2014, Tunis, Tunisia.

  23. Dalila Baba, interviewed September 26, 2014.

  24. Mohamed Ghannouchi, no relation to Ennahdha leader Rachid Ghannouchi, sought to succeed Ben Ali under the 1959 Constitution’s provisions which would have allowed the sitting prime minister to assume a vacated office of the presidency.

  25. See “Tunisian Public Anti-Corruption Initiatives” Business Anti-Corruption Portal, http://www.business-anti-corruption.com/country-profiles/middle-east-north-africa/tunisia/initiatives/public-anti-corruption-initiatives.aspx (last accessed 26 November 2014).

  26. Samir Dilou, former minister for human rights and transitional justice, Ennahdha, intervview by C. Lamont, May 25, 2015, Tunis, Tunisia.

  27. Houda Cherif, former member of the Executive Board of al Joumouhriya, interview by C. Lamont, October 23, 2012, Tunis, Tunisia.

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Acknowledgements

Eric-Wiebelhaus-Brahm thanks Hayden Cuffman and Cameron Graves for valuable research assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tokyo International University, Kawagoe, Japan

    Christopher K. Lamont

  2. The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada

    Joanna R. Quinn

  3. University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Little Rock, AR, USA

    Eric Wiebelhaus-Brahm

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  1. Christopher K. Lamont
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Correspondence to Christopher K. Lamont.

Ethics declarations

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Ethics clearance for interviews in Solomon Islands was obtained from the Non-Medical Research Ethics Board of The University of Western Ontario through protocol #16121S. Ethics clearance for interviews in Tunisia was obtained from Globalisation Studies Groningen at the University of Groningen. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. Additional informed consent was obtained from all individual participants for whom identifying information is included in this article.

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Lamont, C.K., Quinn, J.R. & Wiebelhaus-Brahm, E. The Ministerialization of Transitional Justice. Hum Rights Rev 20, 103–122 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12142-018-0528-0

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