INTRODUCTION

Historical justice is about establishing the facts of what has occurred in the past in order to promote the most effective application of justice in the present. This element of transitional justice is oft en understood to relate to truth commissions, but it draws on several other activities, including those of the criminal justice processes for establishing the facts, distinct fact-finding exercises, and human rights investigations of diverse kinds.

Chapter 4 primarily considers the outcome of the Security Council thematic focus on children and armed conflict as a contribution to historical justice. At the time of the establishment of the monitoring and reporting mechanism of the Security Council in resolution 1612 (2005), it was emphasized that the mechanism was established in order “to collect and provide timely, objective, accurate and reliable information on the recruitment and use of child soldiers in violation of applicable international law and on other violations and abuses committed against children affected by armed conflict.” This chapter offers an analysis of the value added by the information gathered through the mechanism and the subsequent conclusions made by the Security Council Working Group (SCWG) on children and armed conflict, as well as action plans developed with armed groups and forces for the release and reintegration of children within the international legal framework for the protection of children during armed conflicts. While the mechanism does much more than gather information, its ultimate purpose is to pave the way for informed action and political transformation in a context of transitional justice.

While there are many options for how to establish the facts, the way that the facts are established and who is behind the fact finding make a great difference.