Stones Left Unturned

Description

Awarded with the 2009 Max van der Stoel Human Rights AwardStones Left Unturned looks at the post-colonial history of Burundi through transitional justice lenses. It describes how repeated cycles of politico-ethnic violence as well as the so-called remedial action undertaken in their aftermath have been inspired by the desire to maintain or obtain political power. Throughout Burundis negotiated transition from conflict to peace, dealing with the past has been a constant matter of attention. The book zooms in on the gap between the rhetorical commitment by domestic and international actors to establish a truth and reconciliation commission and a special tribunal and the little achievements made so far. The historical account of transitional justice in Burundi is indicative of a fundamental evolution in the conception of law and how it relates to the exercise of political authority. It reveals a growing awareness that neither the process nor the outcome of transitional justice should solely be left to the discretion of the incumbent regime, but that international and constitutional norms impose substantive and procedural barriers.Against the background of Burundis obligations under international law, this volume proposes and at the same time also critically evaluates the use of constitutional adjudication as a way of incorporating the transitional justice process in a wider effort of promoting the rule of law in Burundi.For his doctoral dissertation, on which this book is based, Stef Vandeginste received the 2009 Max van der Stoel Human Rights Award awarded by the Netherlands School of Human Rights Research. The jury found this book impressive. It borrows richly from a range of theoretical traditions and combines this with painstaking documentary and fieldwork. The relevance of this book goes well beyond Burundi and provides lessons for research in different disciplines in many so-called transitional contexts from the jury report.About the authorStef Vandeginste is a Postdoctoral Fellow of the Research Foundation Flanders FWO at the Faculty of Law of the University of Antwerp Belgium. He is a research associate of the Centre for the Study of the Great Lakes Region of Africa Institute of Development Policy and Management, University of Antwerp and co-editor of the yearbook LAfrique des Grands Lacs.About the bookAn absolutely fascinating piece of work what I believe to be a true milestone in legal scholarship of transitional justice, as well as in our understanding of Burundi Peter Uvin, Henry J. Leir Professor of International Humanitarian Studies, The Fletcher School, Tufts University