The Victims of Informal Justice

Abstract

The plight of the victims of political violence in Northern Ireland and South Africa and the enduring suffering of their families has assumed much greater public prominence. Some see this new-found concern by governments for victims in both countries as no more than a necessary part of the political and public relations exercise undertaken in light of unpopular policies (with victims) linked to the wider unstoppable agenda for a peace deal in Northern Ireland and political stability in South Africa. Such policies include the political prisoners’ early release programme in Northern Ireland and the granting of amnesty to individuals disclosing full details of their gross violations of human rights under the apartheid regime in South Africa. Preconceived notions of perpetrators and victims have been politically contested in ways which suggest there are those who are ‘deserving’ or ‘undeserving’ of victimhood status. This chapter will consider one category of victim, those subject to informal justice. These victims have become expendable and legitimate targets for violence in both Northern Ireland and South Africa. They are expendable in the sense that any attempt to deal with the problem in a serious way would have widespread political ramifications for parties currently in government. They are legitimate in that victims’ culpability derives from the communities within which they live and their ‘punishment’ is meted out by agents (i.e. paramilitaries and vigilantes) acting on the communities’ behalf.