DIRECTIONS OF PEACE POLICY, IMPLEMENTATION OF RESTORATIVE JUSTICE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES IN THE FUTURE OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
Keywords:
victims, peace building, rule of law, restorative justice, consequences, supportAbstract
After decades of war and a post-conflict period, Bosnia and Herzegovina faces significant challenges in building sustainable peace and reconciliation. This paper analyzes peace policies and the implementation of restorative justice in Bosnia and Herzegovina with the aim of achieving lasting peace and reconciliation. It focuses on the contributions of these policies to building a society with equal rights for all citizens and providing psychological support to war victims and their families to facilitate recovery and reintegration. The paper examines political, legal, and psychological strategies for preventing new conflicts and building a democratic society, with an emphasis on the role of restorative justice as an alternative legal system that empowers both victims and perpetrators in the reconciliation process. Political strategies include institutional reforms that promote inclusivity and equality, strengthening civil society, and ensuring government transparency. Legal strategies encompass dialogue between victims and perpetrators and the acknowledgment of crimes. Restorative justice allows communities to confront the past, providing a more effective way to meet the needs of war victims. Psychological strategies highlight the importance of emotional and mental health, offering therapy and educational programs that promote intercultural understanding and tolerance. The paper offers key recommendations for the implementation of peace policies and restorative justice, emphasizing a multidisciplinary approach and the need for further research. Key measures include long-term peace agreements, regional reconciliation initiatives, justice and peace legislation, and comprehensive support programs for war victims. The integration of these policies can significantly contribute to the creation of a stable and prosperous society, where restorative justice plays a crucial role in achieving lasting peace and reconciliation in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
References
Androff, D. K. (2012). Reconciliation in a Community-Based Restorative Justice Intervention. The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare, 39 (4), Article 5. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/jssw/vol39/iss4/5 Braithwaite, J. (2002). Restorative Justice and Responsive Regulation. Oxford University Press.
Chandler, D. (2000). Bosnia: Faking Democracy After Dayton. 2th edition. Pluto Press.
Danieli, Y. (1998). International handbook of multigenerational legacies of trauma. Plenum Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-5567-1
Fischer, M., & Simić, O. (2015). Transitional Justice and Reconciliation: Lessons from the Balkans. https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:156270505
Guzina, D., & Marijan, B. (2013). Local Uses of International Criminal Justice in Bosnia-Herzegovina: Transcending Divisions or Building Parallel Worlds? Studies in Social Justice 7(2):245-263. doi:10.26522/ssj.v7i2.1046
Hadžić, F. (2021). Post-genocidal Balkans Peace: Human Justice, Morality, Memory and Oblivion. Journal of Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, 4: 89-113. Johnstone, G., & Van Ness, D. W. (2006). Handbook of Restorative Justice. London, Willan. Kamens, S. (2021). Psychological Support in Post-Conflict Reconciliation: Bridging the Divide Between Victims and Perpetrators. In Healing after War: The Role of Psychosocial Support in Post-Conflict Recovery (pp. 123-145). Oxford University Press.
Kurze, A. (2011). Afraid to Cry Wolf: Human Rights Activists Conundrum to Define Narratives of Justice and Truth in the Former Yugoslavia1." pp.12. https://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&context=justice-studies-facpubs
Lederach, J. P. (1997). Building Peace: Sustainable Reconciliation in Divided Societies. United States Institute of Peace Press Washington, D.C.
Mejia - Bonifazi, G. M. (2022). Victim Participation in Transitional Justice in Guatemala: A Potential Space for Restorative Outcomes? The Theory and Practice of Restorative Justice in Transitional Contexts: Lessons from Colombia and Other Experiences, pp. 3-4. https://nscr.nl/app/uploads/2022/10/Programme_CICJ_Conference.pdf
Moffett, L. (2022). Reader at Queen’s University Belfast, Armed Groups, Reparations and Restorative Justice, The Theory and Practice of Restorative Justice in Transitional Contexts: Lessons from Colombia and Other Experiences. https://nscr.nl/app/uploads/2022/10/Programme_CICJ_Conference.pdf
Moreno, M. C. (2022). ICTJ Head of Office for Colombia, Restorative Justice in the Colombian Transitional Justice Process: Achievements and Challenges, The Theory and Practice of Restorative Justice in Transitional Contexts: Lessons from Colombia and Other Experiences. https://www.ictj.org/media/5470
Murphy, C., Joslin, R., & Joslin, S. (2022). The Theory and Practice of Restorative Justice in Transitional Contexts: Lessons from Colombia and Other Experiences.
O’Neil, B. J. (2019). Reconciling after Transitional Justice: When Prosecutions are not Enough, the Case of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatian International Relations Review, Sciendo, vol. 25(84): 54-77. doi: 10.2478/cirr-2019-0003
Pemberton, A. (2022). Countering Injustice: Insights Inspired by Hannah Arendt. The Theory and Practice of Restorative Justice in Transitional Contexts: Lessons from Colombia and Other Experiences pp.7 https://nscr.nl/app/uploads/2022/10/Programme_CICJ_Conference.pdf
Umbreit, M. S., & Peterson - Armour, M. (2011) Restorative Justice and Dialogue: Impact, Opportunities, and Challenges in the Global Community, 36 WASH.U.J.L.&POL’Y 65 https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_journal_law_policy/vol36/iss1/5 Van Ness, D. W., & Heetderks - Strong, K. (1997). Restoring Justice. Anderson Publishing. Van Ness, D.W., & Heetderks-Strong, K. (2010). Restoring Justice: An Introduction to Restorative Justice. Edition, revised. Routledge Publishing. Zehr, H. (2002). The Little Book of Restorative Justice (The Little Books of Justice & Peacebuilding). first edition, Good Books.
