This Horn of Africa Bulletin (HAB) Issue is dedicated towards assessing the nexus between transitional justice, peacebuilding and reconciliation, by engaging with case studies in the region, including Somalia, South Sudan as well as the work of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). The Bulletin also draws upon the comparative experiences of The Gambia, to provide some practical insights and lessons for ongoing efforts to promote transitional justice, peacebuilding and reconciliation in the Horn of Africa. The first article by Moyo: African Union’s consolidation of the transitional justice, reconciliation and peacebuilding nexus, engages with the AUTJP and argues that this document was developed by integrating the practical experience of promoting transitional justice, peacebuilding and reconciliation drawn from across the African continent. The second article by Tshuma: IGAD’s role in promoting regional reconciliation, interrogates the concept of regional reconciliation and its three levels of implementation, notably, leader-to-leader engagement; government-to-government interventions; and people-to-people exchanges. The third article by Nyadera: The impact of identity on transitional justice and peacebuilding in Somalia, examines the elusiveness of peace in Somalia, due to the identity-based nature of the contestation and grievances between clans in the country. The fourth article by Logo: The politics of criminal accountability and peacebuilding in South Sudan, observes that the establishment of a Hybrid Court for South Sudan (HCSS), was incorporated as part of the September 2018 Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS). However, despite its provision in the R-ARCSS, the political and military elites resisted the establishment of the HCSS, because they did not want to establish a court that could potentially hold them accountable for human rights violations and crimes against humanity. The fifth and final article by Ikubaje and Dr. Matlosa: Transitional justice in the Horn of Africa: Lessons from the Gambia, draws upon the experience of the Republic of The Gambia, in West Africa, in framing its transitional justice processes following its transition to a new political dispensation in 2017.
