From powerless to empowered: the voices of war-affected children in transitional justice

Abstract

My research will ask how, and why, the meaningful participation of children in transitional justice should be facilitated in post-conflict environments. This will involve the first review of existing provision for children in transitional justice, and the bringing together of perspectives in development studies and law. The lens through which the work will be presented is through the experience of ‘ex-children’ (those adults who, as children, grew up in the shadow of protracted conflict and the transition period that followed). Through interweaving a ‘golden thread’ by way of international child rights, specifically the “right to be heard” (as presented in Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child), the project will look at two focus countries with a history of protracted conflict, asking new questions about the way children and youth were affected, and ‘make the case’ for supporting child participation in transitional justice.