In post-conflict regions, transitional justice approaches have been increasingly implemented in recent decades with the aim of addressing serious human rights violations, facilitating reconciliation and reducing the psychological burden on survivors. In Cambodia, a hybrid war tribunal (Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), 2006-2022) was established to prosecute human rights violations committed during the Khmer Rouge regime between 1975 and 1979. A novelty of this tribunal was that survivors had the possibility to be involved in the trials as civil parties. Previous research suggests that participation in transitional justice measures can entail both benefits and risks for the mental health of survivors, but the specific impact on those taking part has so far been insufficiently investigated.

 

The aim of the project in collaboration with the local non-governmental organization Transcultural Psychosocial Organization Cambodia (https://tpocambodia.org) is to investigate how survivors of the Khmer Rouge regime experienced their participation as civil parties in the ECCC and what psychosocial effects their participation had on them. The project focuses on the impact of participation on the mental health, sense of justice and readiness to reconcile of civil parties. It also examines which aspects of participation in transitional justice measures are experienced as stressful or helpful to inform the future participation of survivors of human rights violations in tribunals and similar transitional justice measures.

In addition, interviews with experts involved in the ECCC are conducted to complement the perspective of survivors with professional insights, for example from the fields of mental health care and justice. This shall enable an interdisciplinary professional perspective on the participation of survivors in transitional justice measures, particularly regarding the effects of such participation on mental health.

 

Contact persons

Dr. Nadine Stammel

M. Sc. Louisa Heinzl