The ACIJLP welcomes the establishment of the Ministry of Transitional Justice And calls upon the speedy establishment of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission

Cairo, 18^th July 2013

 

The ACIJLP welcomes the establishment of the Ministry of Transitional Justice

And calls upon the speedy establishment of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission

 

The Arab Center for the Independence of Judiciary and the Legal Profession (ACIJLP) expresses its great welcomes on the establishment of the Ministry of Transitional Justice in the formation of the new Egyptian government, in a positive step that must be followed by other steps, mainly to immediately start the formation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, to be independent of all the executive agencies in order to perform the tasks of closing the file of the past regarding the violations of human rights by the two former regimes without affecting its work. The ACIJLP also emphasizes the need to establish this commission by a law that guarantees full financial and administrative independence to its work.

The ACIJLP also emphasizes that reconciliation and social peace cannot be reached without full implementation of transitional justice programs, which are based on the need for accountability for the most serious crimes as a first condition for national reconciliation.

The ACIJLP warns from neglecting the importance of the right of the community and the people regarding the crimes committed by the former political regimes. Moreover, the admission of guilt and uncovering the crimes is the most important requirement of the amnesty and reconciliation in crimes which are not severe.

The ACIJLP also stresses the importance of institutional reform as one of the most important components of the transitional justice programs and the basic guarantee for the not repeating crimes of the past in the future. Furthermore, comprehensive legislative review of Egyptian laws especially those related to the fundamental rights and freedoms of citizens is the path to reconciliation and to ensure continuity in the future.

In this context, the ACIJLP emphasizes that it is necessary for transitional justice programs to include compensation for victims of the revolution and reparation for the damage caused to them in conjunction with the reviving the memory of the people against all painful past practices.

The ACIJLP also calls upon all the Egyptian civil society organizations to monitor and follow up the performance of the government during the implementation of transitional justice programs because of its significant role in ensuring the safe transition from tyranny to democracy.