Appraising the socio-economic turn in reparations: transitional justice for Cholera victims in Haiti

Lemay-Hébert, N. and Freedman, R. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3037-9026 (2021) Appraising the socio-economic turn in reparations: transitional justice for Cholera victims in Haiti. International Journal of Transitional Justice, 15 (3). pp. 533-552. ISSN 1752-7716 doi: 10.1093/ijtj/ijab020

Abstract/Summary

After belatedly apologizing for the cholera epidemic in Haiti, the ‘New Approach to Cholera in Haiti’ by the UN and the promise of material assistance to victims through a ‘victim centered approach’ highlights how the victims-turn and the socio-economic turns are increasingly pivotal in the field of transitional justice. In light of the growing call to take seriously the material dimension of reparations, we suggest a matrix to clarify the debate made of two separate dimensions (or axes): the focus of reparations – collective versus individual – and the means of reparations – symbolic versus material. Based on fieldwork conducted in March 2017 in the communities most affected by the cholera outbreak, this article demonstrates how the tensions between reparations offered by the UN (with a preference for collective symbolic reparations) and the reparations demanded by the victims (individual material reparations) can help understand the current stalemate in Haiti, and hopefully inform the next steps in the process of remedy for the victims of cholera.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/98618
Identification Number/DOI	10.1093/ijtj/ijab020
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Arts, Humanities and Social Science > School of Law
Publisher	Oxford Academic
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