Justice in Conflict:

The continued prevalence of deadly conflicts resulting in atrocities and crimes against humanity bring to sharp contrast the competing demands of justice and the interests of conflict resolution and peace building. While contemporary transitional justice deals with questions of impunity in post conflict situations, this book examines the suitability of international justice for conflict resolution. This critique is situated in the historical development and rise to prominence of international humanitarian law and human rights conventions. It critiques the consequences of pursuing justice in on going conflicts and scrutinizes the competing interests of the punitive and retributive approach to contemporary international justice leading to prosecution, against a conflict resolution approach that favours political considerations for peace and security that may require engagement with perpetrators of war crimes in order to secure peace. The balance between peace and justice is the more difficult to strike in the context of an on going conflict such as Northern Uganda’s where the pursuit of justice by the ICC risks exacerbating the conflict and diminishing the prospects for peace.