Transitional Justice in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia

In his policy brief "Truth and reconciliation? Transitional Justice in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia" Moataz El Fegiery offers an overview of how far Egypt, Libya and Tunisia went so far in terms of transitional justice. He analyzes the current political and institutional obstacles and shares his view on the prospects for truth and reconciliation in those countries. For Egypt, Moataz El Fegiery identifies the empowered military as the biggest constraint, while in Libya the main problem is that neither the state military nor the security apparatus has been able to impose order or to monopolise the legitimate use of force. In Tunisia, however, a coalition of different political and civil society forces has jointly devised the transitional roadmap and the transitional justive law from December 2013 lays the ground for a comprehensive accountability process.

While transitional justice is an urgent priority in all three countries, El Fegiery concludes that transitional settings at present make this undertaking more feasible in Tunisia than in Libya and Egypt. As long as fundamental consensus among key political players is absent, justice and accountability measures can easily turn to vengeance and destabilise the new political order, he writes.

To read the full policy brief, please click here.

Photo courtesy by Emma Lagunday.