Transitional Justice Provisions in the Juba Peace Agreement: A Critical and Prospective Overview

Abstract

Justice was one of the three pillars that formed the slogan—“Freedom, Peace, Justice”—of the 2019 Sudanese revolution that ushered in the current transition process. It is central to peacebuilding. The Juba Peace Agreement (JPA) affirms that “accountability, reconciliation, and justice are critical for ensuring durable peace and security in Sudan.” This is further expounded in the National Agreement and the Darfur, Eastern, and Two Areas tracks of the JPA. However, skepticism about its ambition and implementation is as strong as its prospects for peace and reconciliation. Previous peace agreements, including the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (2005), the Darfur Peace Agreement (2006), and the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (2011), had engaged with justice issues without success, as evidenced by conflict intractability and abuse. Drawing from primary and secondary sources, this article critically analyzes the human rights and justice provisions of the JPA, their implementation mechanisms, and policy pathways for their effectiveness. It argues that although the JPA casts an ambitiously comprehensive and innovative vision of transformative justice, the attendant implementation mechanisms invoke a more retributive outlook that is likely to jeopardize the peace process.