Faith Based Organisations and the Management of the Painful and Untreated Past in a Context of Transitional Justice: Case of Burundi

Religious and faith-based actors have played wide-ranging roles during periods of conflict or authoritarian rule, from peacemakers to tacit support of discriminatory or oppressive policies, to direct or indirect instigators of violence. In some contexts, faith- based actors have been able  to build critical grassroots support for peace and reconciliation, but individual religious leaders have also been held accountable for committing atrocities, such as during the Rwandan genocide.

Involving faith-based organizations in transitional justice processes, therefore, requires a proper analysis of their role as well as the contribution they bring to the process. Although the practice of transitional justice and processes aimed at negotiating peace and transition have involved faith-based actors as key stakeholders either leading or advocating for change and democratic order, the role of faith-based actors, and the extent to which they advance truth, justice, and reconciliation goals and influence the success and legitimation of post-conflict reconstruction processes has not been subjected to much inquiry.