EU Statement – United Nations Security Council: Transitional Justice, a Building Block Towards Sustaining Peace

 - As delivered --

Mr. President, I have the honour to speak on behalf of the EU and its Member States.

The Candidate Countries Turkey, the Republic of North Macedonia^*, Montenegro^*, Serbia^*  and Albania^*, the country of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidate Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, and Georgia, align themselves with this statement.

• I would to like to express my sincere gratitude to Belgium for taking the initiative to address this important subject today and thank all the briefers for their presentations.
• Transitional justice is often described as dealing with the aftermath of conflicts or atrocities. But, it is not only a matter of providing meaningful justice, but also an essential building block towards sustaining peace, avoiding relapse into conflict.
• Transitional justice is also a means to reach reconciliation. Only by dealing meaningfully with the past, can a society move forward without being taken hostage by its own history.
• The European Union, in its very essence, is the product of a collective vision and commitment to overcome the past and to build sustainable peace through reconciliation, free and democratic societies where human rights and the rule of law are upheld.
• The European Union adopted a comprehensive Policy Framework on Transitional Justice in November 2015, becoming the first regional organisation to do so. Since then, we have witnessed several positive developments and we welcome the African Union’s Transitional Justice Policy adopted last year.
• In our policy framework we underline that all transitional justice processes have to be nationally-owned and context specific. Each situation requires a tailor-made approach. Being a whole-of-society endeavour, special attention needs to be paid to tailoring inclusive transitional justice processes promoting women’s and youth participation and influence in decision-making processes at all levels, in all areas.
• Criminal justice, accountability, establishment of truth, reparations and institutional reform are all possible entry points to ending impunity, providing redress to victims, fostering trust and strengthening the rule of law. The EU recognizes that accountability and justice are most successful if the justice system functions effectively and independently, thereby enabling the International Criminal Court to serve its intended role, complementing national jurisdictions. Transitional justice processes play an important role in that regard by assisting countries in developing and strengthening their capacities to meet the obligations arising from the Rome Statute.
• Transitional justice should be conducive to reconciliation, one of the most difficult things to achieve, as it goes beyond forgiving and forgetting, or simply turning the page of history. Victims and affected communities should be at the centre of all efforts.
• Transitional justice is a complex issue, therefore best considered from the outset of any peace support efforts from mediation to restoring peace and security in countries emerging from conflict.
• It also requires a truly integrated approach. The active advisory role of the Peacebuilding Commission to the Security Council could be further drawn upon to ensure that appropriate attention is paid to transitional justice and reconciliation at all stages of the conflict cycle.
• In recent years, the EU has made considerable efforts to translate policy commitments into more concrete action on the ground, always working close to and in support of UN efforts:

• In Syria, we are supporting the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) in setting up mechanisms and partnerships for data collection and the systematic compilation of information from the families of missing persons.
• In Colombia, we stepped up our support right after the peace accord to help overcoming the obstacles that can occur during the early implementation of the Agreement.
• In the Central African Republic, we are also supporting the Special Criminal Court as a critical body to fight impunity.
• We collaborated with UN WOMEN to strengthen the integrated of gender dimension in transitional justice processes.

Mr. President,

• Supporting transitional justice requires specific expertise, we have therefore set up a flexible instrument that enables the EU to deploy transitional justice experts on the ground to assist upon request. We are also ready to engage on the long-term through our missions on the ground or our dedicated financial instruments.
• Finally, I would like to pay tribute to the crucial role that civil society organisations have played in so many transitional justice processes. They have often been the driver behind numerous initiatives, giving a voice to millions of victims.
• We stand ready to further engage on this subject and we hope that today`s deliberations mark only the beginning of a deeper conversation, as it touches upon so many different topics that are on the agenda of the Security Council, ranging from mediation to children and armed conflict, amongst others.
• Thank you.

* The Republic of North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Albania continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.