Group of SANDF troops due to arrive home from DRC
They are arriving at air force base Bloemspruit in Bloemfontein at about midday and will be welcomed by minister of defence and military veterans Angie Motshega, accompanied by members of the military command council.
The mission was sent to assist Kinshasa's fight against rebel groups in the DRC's war-ravaged eastern borderlands in December 2023.
The 16-member Southern African Development Community (Sadc) said in mid-March it had terminated the mandate and would begin a phased withdrawal of its force from the DRC.
According to the SANDF, the withdrawal was informed by the directive issued by the Sadc extraordinary summit of heads of state and government meeting held virtually on March 13.
The bodies of 14 SANDF troops killed when M23 rebels captured the key city of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, were returned to SA in February.
Earlier this year scores of SANDF soldiers were wounded in clashes between M23 rebel forces and DRC government troops.
About 200 soldiers returned in February from the DRC.
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It draws on the 2004 United Nations definition of transitional justice, thereby overlooking the African Union Transitional Justice Policy, adopted in 2019 by all AU member states, including those in the SADC. The AU policy is grounded in African norms, values and approaches – including traditional justice systems – and offers a regionally relevant and contextually appropriate framework. By failing to reference the policy and incorporate its definition, the SADC's draft does not reflect member states' sociopolitical and cultural contexts. Also, the draft's narrow conceptualisation of transitional justice limits its application to post-conflict contexts, overlooking the legacies of authoritarianism. Numerous southern African states have faced governance-related abuses long after active conflict has ended, including systemic corruption, enforced disappearances and the suppression of dissent. 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Furthermore, transitional justice within the SADC must address not only civil and political rights violations, but also violations of economic and social rights – an area where the AU policy remains comparatively underdeveloped. Land dispossession, extractive exploitation, systemic corruption, state capture and poverty should be viewed not merely as development issues, but also as matters of justice. advertisement Don't want to see this? Remove ads advertisement Don't want to see this? Remove ads This has been acknowledged to varying degrees by transitional justice processes in Sierra Leone, Chad, Ethiopia and Liberia, and in cases before the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights. A comprehensive framework shouldn't consider transitional justice in isolation. Recent experiences highlight the need for complementarity with other peacebuilding mechanisms such as peace processes, PCRD, national dialogues and disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration programmes. The SADC framework should guide countries on coordinating and sequencing these processes. Furthermore, the final framework must go beyond articulating principles to providing actionable guidance for member states. This includes strategies for contextualising transitional justice at the national level, building institutional capacity to engage with communities, and promoting decentralised implementation. Transitional justice must be pursued through both top-down and bottom-up approaches. The SADC framework should actively promote inclusive, participatory and decentralised mechanisms that engage communities, civil society organisations and local institutions alongside government actors. Equally important is the question of monitoring and oversight. The SADC may consider the AU policy, which empowers the AU Commission to monitor national transitional justice initiatives. advertisement Don't want to see this? Remove ads Parallel mechanisms could enable the SADC Secretariat to support and guide member states. Enhanced collaboration with the AU Commission in Addis Ababa would ensure regional coherence and technical rigour during implementation. Ultimately, the SADC region needs a transitional justice policy that is not only aligned with AU instruments and informed by regional and international best practices, but also reflects consultations with stakeholders, civil society and communities. Whether developed as part of the current integrated draft or through a standalone transitional justice framework, the core elements, principles, cross-cutting issues and benchmarks must be identified and agreed on. Without these revisions, the SADC risks falling short of its potential to support member states in confronting their authoritarian and violent pasts and in laying the foundations for justice, reconciliation and peace. DM John G Ikubaje, head, Transitional Justice Unit, Political Affairs, Peace and Security Department, AU Commission; and Tadesse Simie Metekia, senior researcher, Special Projects, Institute for Security Studies (ISS) Addis Ababa. First published by ISS Today.
