Transitional Justice Implementation Roadmap Finalized: Ministry of Justice

Addis Ababa: The Ministry of Justice announced the completion of Ethiopia's Transitional Justice Implementation Roadmap and state of the drafting of legal frameworks.Since the adoption of the Ethiopian Transitional Justice Policy by the Council of Ministers on 17 April 2024, various preparatory measures have been undertaken with a view to transitioning to a full-fledged implementations phase.One of the activities involves designing the Transitional Justice Implementations Roadmap-which guides the overall implementation, follow-up and support schemes under the Policy and the work on the Roadmap is now completed, the Ministry of Justice said in a statement it issued today.The ministry elaborated that one of the key interventions foreseen under the policy involves the preparation of legal frameworks that establish and organize independent and impartial institutions tasked with implementation of the various components of the transitional justice mechanism.Accordingly, the preparation of legislations that establish the criminalization and punishment of international crimes in Ethiopia and organize the truth, amnesty and reparations commission as well as other entities responsible for implementation of various pillars of the transitional justice process is already underway.Further, the drafting of legislation providing for powers and procedures of the Special Bench that adjudicates cases of criminal accountability falling within the fold of transitional justice is being pursued under the tutelage and coordination of the Federal Supreme Court, it said.The preparation of the legal frameworks is carried out by teams of professionals holding significant expertise and experience in the field, the press release said.Once concluded, national and international consultation platforms shall be organized for the public and stakeholders to provide detailed feedback on the draft legislations.The timely adoption of these legislations is crucial for achieving the Policy's objectives, particularly in delivering compreh ensive justice.This includes operationalizing key transitional justice mechanisms such as truth-seeking, reconciliation, criminal accountability, conditional amnesty, reparation, and institutional reform.Source: Ethiopian News Agency