Graphic Illustration from the West Africa Dialogue on the Murad Code

On 27 June 2024, IICI held the first in a series of dialogues that will explore how the standards contained in the Murad Code can strengthen the work of practitioners gathering and using information about systematic and conflict-related sexual violence in different regions.  

The first 90-minute dialogue “Uncovering Blind Spots: Empowering Survivors in Transitional Justice - Understanding Drivers of Harmful and Good Practices When Documenting Systematic and Conflict-Related Sexual Violence and Adopting a Survivor-Centred Approach” featured four panellists who have engaged through different angles and disciplines with transitional justice processes in West Africa. 

This graphic illustration captures some of the key issues identified by panellists that prevented these transitional justice processes from offering comprehensive accountability and dignity to survivors, such as insufficient training on survivor-centred approaches for staff working in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Special Court in Sierra Leone, and the failure of the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission in The Gambia to apply a gender lens to its investigations. It draws out the key relevant principles from the Murad Code to demonstrate how adhering to the minimum standards the Code contains would strengthen the practice of transitional justice actors and other information-gatherers and users in future accountability mechanisms. 

By Kathryn Gichini.