Briefing Note: Human Rights and Conflict Transformation

This briefing note seeks to provide a summary of key arguments relating to the link between human rights, prevention and conflict transformation (including conflict recurrence and post-conflict criminal violence, ie transmutation and transformation of violence over time). It is intended to inform efforts by the Special Rapporteur (SR) on the Promotion of Truth, Justice, Reparation and Guarantee of Non-Recurrence to advance conceptual and practical work on prevention as part of his mandate on non-recurrence. After a brief introduction to the notion of conflict transformation, it sets out three key arguments in the literature on contributions of human rights to conflict transformation (human rights as enhancing analysis and understanding of underlying causes of conflict; human rights as providing standards, models and mechanisms for addressing causes and handling conflict non-violently; and human rights as informing the process of addressing and transforming violent conflict). It subsequently summarises some insights on the transmutation of violence in times of transitions from war to peace, and briefly outlines important caveats when considering human rights in relation to conflict prevention and transformation.