Transitional Justice and Colonialism

This chapter examines the reasons behind and the implications of the lack of, or poor, engagement of transitional justice with colonialism. Transitional justice has become the major
framework in the international system for dealing with mass harm, and a global norm. As the various chapters in this book demonstrate, transitional justice practice and theory seeks to provide an account of the incidence of injustice and to secure justice as well as guarantees of non-repetition for victims of widespread injustice. In the contemporary post-colonial period, colonialism has shaped the social, political and economic dynamics of many communities and even societies across the world. It is trite to say that colonialism constitutes one of the major historical injustices in human history. However, transitional justice has largely overlooked, or has been slow at best, to address the extensive harm caused by colonialism. This is despite the persisting impacts of colonialism on formerly colonised societies. The neglect of transitional justice to engage with the injustices of colonialism is thus problematic. That neglect forms a part of the wider issue of the construct of contemporary international law and the international system. This is more so when it is considered that contemporary transitional justice theory and praxis has its roots in the human rights and democratisation agenda of the post-Second World War international system.