From 11 to 13 February 2025, forumZFD Ukraine hosted Transitional Justice and Dealing with the Past workshop in Chernivtsi, bringing together practitioners, mediators, researchers, and civil society actors to share views and experiences on how societies deal with the legacies of war and injustice.
The workshop aimed to create a space for participants to explore key elements of transitional justice, including truth-seeking, accountability, and memorialization, while reflecting on how these concepts apply to Ukraine's current and future contexts. International guests, Sonja Biserko from Serbia, shared insights on transitional justice processes in the Balkans, and Lura Limani, co-founder of the Kosovo Oral History Initiative, presented methods for documenting personal narratives of war-affected communities. These experts provided valuable insights into past experiences of societies that have undergone similar processes, offering both lessons learned and cautionary tales.
Engaging with Challenges and Perspectives
The discussions underscored the complexities of transitional justice, highlighting the challenges of addressing transitional justice discourse in a country still experiencing active war. Many participants saw the need to concentrate on Ukraine’s immediate war related struggles, making it challenging to shift the conversation towards long-term strategies for addressing past injustices and reconciliation. There was some reluctance to explore broader transitional justice mechanisms, reflecting the societal focus on overcoming the RF aggression over post-war justice considerations.
However, through interactive exercises and group work, participants gradually engaged with the intertwined approaches of restorative and retributive justice. Divided into working groups based on their professional backgrounds, lawyers, researchers, mediators, and artists, analyzed conflict resolution through different lenses. This method allowed for an inclusive conversation, where each participant contributed its expertise to developing potential solutions.
One of the highlights of the workshop was the Art Playback session, which powerfully demonstrated how artistic methods can facilitate dialogue, healing, and understanding in post-war contexts. Participants were particularly engaged in a presentation on oral history documentation in Kosovo, highlighting the potential of storytelling in preserving memories and acknowledging past injustices.
Key Takeaways and Future Steps
A critical takeaway from the workshop was that transitional justice is not a one-size-fits-all process. While Ukraine has made strides in war crimes investigations, documentation, and legal accountability, there is still unexplored potential for broader discussions on memorialization, truth-telling, putting the needs of the victims at the forefront.
Additionally, the workshop provided a unique opportunity to bring together forumZFD Ukraine's implementing partners, many of whom had not met in person before. This gathering fostered stronger connections and enabled meaningful discussions on the future perspectives of ongoing projects. Given that some participants work in highly volatile regions, the workshop also served as a much-needed space for them to recharge, reflect, and exchange experiences in a supportive environment. Beyond the core discussions on transitional justice, the event strengthened collaboration, encouraged knowledge exchange, and helped to start a conversation on the legacies of the war in Ukraine.
One clear recommendation from the workshop was to continue working on memory-related initiatives such as oral history, and art in memory work, while recognizing that deeper engagement with truth-seeking and reparations will require time and readiness from both society and institutions.
forumZFD Ukraine remains committed to fostering these discussions and supporting Ukrainian partners in navigating the complexities of transitional justice and the wider dealing with the past processes.