IJR, 2017-2021, Core Support

Reports  The presentation of the report has improved in its attempt to capture results and processes that are leading towards results. It has responded to questions like what have the operations led to and in some instances what has changed. The report was presented following the five strategic objectives with sub-topics on specific projects and country focuses. The financial report was also published along with the narrative report, showing the organization's commitment to transparency and accountability. The audit reports of 2019 and previous years has shown few weaknesses in the financial control system of the organization and recommendations of audit reports has been followed-up.  Meetings/Field visits  IJR organizes annual review meetings that has enabled Sida to engage and closely monitor the work of IJR. Among the issues rasied discussed during the 2019 review meeting included the draft work plan for 2020, and the fact it needs to be strengthened in terms of highlighting IJR’s work outside of South Africa. A great number of activities are planned to be implemented and with the objective that's focused solely in South Africa, while the support aims for IJR to have a wider impact at regional and continental level. IJR justified it in relation to a number of challenges across the continent in specific countries of its focus, however there are new opportunities to be explored due to the AU Policy being adopted. IJR’s engagement will be more focused on regional interventions with RECs. The new strategy for the next phase of IJR's work will start in 2020 and the broad framework was also discussed.   The budget shortfall was also a point of discussion, the total expenditure budget in 2019 was ZAR 37 million with a shortfall of ZAR 3 million. The projected budget plan for 2020 was at ZAR 35 million, while potential and confirmed funds are ZAR 24 million. This is a concern for donors and encouraged IJR to diversify its income, IJR has communicated that a number of grant applications under consideration for 2020 which will reduce the shortfall.  Examples of results under each objective areas (1) Advancement of regional reconciliation as a concept and in practice The African Union Transitional and Justice Policy (AUTJP) was adopted in February 2019. IJR was instrumental in providing technical expertise towards the development of this policy since 2011, with special focus on the theme of regional reconciliation. AUTJP will serve as a framework for governmental and intergovernmental actors to begin to explore the notion of regional reconciliation as a pathway to more stable societies and countries. Innovative community-based interventions, such as the peacebuilding efforts among the Karamoja Cluster which straddles Uganda and Kenya, are already working through cross-border, people-to-people processes. These are a form of regional reconciliation. Since the development of the policy, IJR is working on awareness creation and dissemination of the policy in selected countries. (2) Increased application of transitional and victim-centred justice and reconciliation Burundi - Between 2018 and 2019, the IJR conducted research which generated new knowledge on, and insights into, a forgotten historical era in which a culture of imposed silence had left a wide range of societal issues unaddressed. The IJR Research Report, ‘Wounded Memories: Perceptions of Past Violence in Burundi and Perspectives for Reconciliation’, demonstrated that suppressed memory and historical accounts pertaining to violent conflicts is a wide spread phenomenon across Burundian society. The research has revived interest in understanding what role a violent past plays with respect to people’s behaviour and attitude, including the transmission of a negative narrative from one generation to another. CAR - In the lead-up to the signing, on 6 February 2019, of the ‘Political Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation in the Central African Republic’ (Political Agreement), the IJR provided capacity-building for officials who would go on to represent the CAR government at the AU-led peace talks with the country’s 14 armed rebel groups.This included training workshops with the Ministry of Humanitarian Action and National Reconciliation and Ministry of Disarmament,Demobilisation, Reintegration,and Repatriation (DDRR). The IJR’s engagements in the country have continued to emphasise: the importance of an inclusive, bottom-up approach to building reconciliation; the role of women within local and national reconciliation initiatives; and the potential of traditional justice practices in reconciling communities. This emphasis has paid dividends not just in the provisions included in the Political Agreement, but is also evidenced in a marked increase in the government’s willingness to engage with local civil society, as well as in the positive feedback from many of the 110 Central Africans drawn from civil society, religious institutions and government who have participated in IJR training programmes to date. (3) Establishing bottom-up reconciliation and restoration of human dignity as a key approach Human dignity is the founding principle of human rights. International human rights laws and policy documents refer to dignity as one of the most basic and important values. For the majority in South Africa, English is not their mother tongue. Consequently,in the promotion of social cohesion, South Africans can literally talk past one another because one of the official languages, English, is elevated above the others. Often, people in positions of power and authority speak at, or down to, people without power, and institutions that hold authority make people wait for acknowledgement and respect. This undermines various efforts to promote dignity, collective understanding, social cohesion and South Africanness against the backdrop of centuries of colonisation and apartheid. IJR's engagements provided an impetus to commit to new ways of doing things. In Calitzdorp, for example, the community came together and realised that their ‘individual feelings of powerlessness’ could be transformed into a ‘collective’ social challenge and that they shared similar, and even the same struggles. This realisation stirred them into action. People realised that they have agency, that they have skills to share and transfer. (4) Reduce racism, increase social cohesion and inclusion According to the 2017 South African Reconciliation Barometer (SARB), 20% of respondents frequently experience racism in the workplace; 18.9% in malls and shops; 14.1% on public transport; 16.5% in public spaces; and 15.1% at social gatherings. This shows how much work needs to be done. The SARB also shows that 31.7% of respondents frequently talk to other races at work and that 73.9% would like more interaction at work, on public transport (64.6%), and in shops and malls (76.4%). This indicates a willingness to cross the divide. The problem for many people is how to do this. Through the intra- and inter-race dialogues, people have been given the opportunity to bridge the divides that exist. By bringing people together in this way, participants have been able to break down racial stereotypes and have been given the opportunity to interrogate the challenges that exist. The programme has also provided an important space for people to tell their stories as well as a safe space in which to be listened to. Importantly, the programme provides a platform for creating a more understanding, trusting and socially cohesive society. The SARB data also featured prominently in the final version of the National Action Plan against Racism that was launched in March 2019. (5) Improve socio-economic justice in South Africa One of the unintended results of IJR's work was following a 2017 presentation on the SARB in Colombo, Sri Lanka,the Project was approached by the Deutsche Gesellschaft fürInternationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ) to support its Strengthening Reconciliation Processes in Sri Lanka Project through the development of a survey measurement instrument, similar to the SARB, to track and measure public opinion around reconciliation in Sri Lanka. In the course of 2019, the Project participated in two workshops in Colombo aimed at the development of the survey, which is likely to be fielded in 2020. This collaboration is in line with similar, previous international engagements in countries like Rwanda, Kenya and Cyprus where the Project has shared its expertise in the development of tracking tools in post-conflict contexts.

In 2017, IJR will rework their overall Results Framework in order to establish consistent and logical linkages between the intended outcomes (goals), their indicators and main activities. The overriding expected outcomes - as defined in IJR's Strategic Plan - will obviously constitute the point of departure in this context. These outcomes are: (1) Advancement of regional reconciliation as a concept and in practice (2) Increased application of transitional and victim-centred justice and reconciliation (3) Establishing bottom-up reconciliation and restoration of human dignity as a key approach (4) Reduce racism, increase social cohesion and inclusion (5) Improve socio-economic justice in South Africa