Transitional Justice and Proactive National Responses to Oppression—What Can a Post-Genocidal Nation Do?

Transitional justice (TJ) must help a society move beyond a time when mass murder was happening. Transitional justice works toward a season when victims have their rights restored. One way to restore victims’ rights is to recognize them as having the right to defend themselves (R2D). Another way to restore victims’ rights is to have states embrace and act upon a responsibility to protect (R2P) the oppressed. It is an injustice to exercise the responsibility to protect (R2P) for a privileged few. R2D is a positive right granted to potential victims as a collective. R2P is a duty assumed by a state as a collective. Individuals can lend moral and actual support to the discharge of both operations. Both proactive steps value those who are oppressed, and it is possible that R2D could be incorporated within a R2P plan. However, R2D requires oppressed people to adopt a proactive approach to protect their welfare. A state or international agency must initiate and uphold R2P. The ethical implications of both R2D and R2P are explored in this chapter.