Civil Society Organization Stresses Need for Reinforcing Participation of CSOs in Transitional Justice

The Ethiopian civil society organization, Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR), has stressed the need for reinforcing the engagement of civil society organizations in Ethiopia's transitional justice process.Lawyers for Human Rights Executive Director Ameha Mekonnen told ENA that civil society organizations (CSOs) play critical role in the country's inclusive growth, including social, human rights and rule of law, among others.The participation of civil society organizations in the transitional justice process is encouraging, he added.Better participation of all stakeholders is still crucial for the full implementation of the transitional justice, the executive director observed.Recalling that the transitional justice policy has been through various phases before its approval, he noted that civil society organizations and other stakeholders have been actively participating during the process.Such encouraging trend has to be further reinforced for the successful implementation of the policy, Ameha said.Ac cording to him, CSOs are instrumental in creating awareness among the general public, participating in capacity building and providing technical support during the implementation stage of the policy.Last month, Ministry of Justice announced the completion of the roadmap for implementing the Transitional Justice Policy adopted in April.The roadmap outlines activities that provide for criminal accountability, reparations, truth-seeking and institutional reform, and their sequencing, it was learned.The ministry further pointed out that the roadmap contains a system that allows Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to participate as members for establishing temporary and permanent institutional collaborative management and implementation of transitional justice mechanisms.Recalled that the Transitional Justice Policy of Ethiopia was approved by the Council of Ministers in April 2024.The policy aims to oversee and implement the national transitional justice process based on principles of accountability, rec onciliation, and reparation.Source: Ethiopian News Agency