CIVIL SOCIETY AND THE FIGHT FOR RECOGNITION OF THE FUNDAMENTAL LIBERTIES DURING PEACE NEGOTIATION PROCESSES: LESSONS FROM THE CIVIL WAR IN SIERRA LEONE AND FROM THE LOMÉ PEACE ACCORD

Authors

  • Erick da Luz Scherf Universidade do Vale do Itajaí - Campus Itajaí. Escola de Ciências Jurídicas e Sociais (ECJS)
  • Rodrigo Milindre Gonzalez Universidade do Vale do Itajaí. Escola de Ciências Jurídicas e Sociais (ECJS)

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5380/cg.v7i2.59393

Abstract

The 11-year armed conflict in Sierra Leone was characterized by extreme brutality and widespread violations of human rights, particularly against civilians. Therefore, the aim is to identify the degree of importance of the organized civil society in the struggle for the recognition of fundamental freedoms during peace negotiations in Sierra Leone and the subsequent formalization of the Lomé Agreement, which formally ended the conflict. As well as, analyze if such liberties were reached materially or not, in the social context Sierra Leone. The research method was the inductive and the search mechanism used was the bibliographic one. In sum, it was possible to note that the organized civil society in Sierra Leone, mainly human rights NGOs, played an important role during peace negotiation and cessation of hostilities, as well as forcing the human rights agenda during these processes, ensuring that the parties of the Lomé Peace Agreement recognized and affirmed in this instrument a well-established body of fundamental freedoms and rights. However, it has also been identified that structural socio-economic inequalities in the country make it difficult to translate the freedoms from the formal plan of law to the material plan of life in society.

Key words: Organized Civil Society. Fundamental Liberties. Peace Negotiation. Sierra Leone. Lomé Peace Agreement.

Author Biographies

Erick da Luz Scherf, Universidade do Vale do Itajaí - Campus Itajaí. Escola de Ciências Jurídicas e Sociais (ECJS)

Atualmente cursa o quinto período do bacharelado em Relações Internacionais na Universidade do Vale do Itajaí (UNIVALI) - Campus Itajaí. Atua como pesquisador na área de Direitos Humanos, integrando o grupo de pesquisa intitulado "Direitos Humanos e Cidadania", cadastrado junto ao CNPQ e à Escola de Ciências Jurídicas e Sociais da UNIVALI. É também bolsista no projeto de extensão "Direito intergeracional e transversalidade: para a igualdade étnica, de gênero e a justiça socioambiental", que realiza ações interdisciplinares no campo da garantia de direitos da criança e do adolescente por meio da oferta de cursos de formação e assessorias às entidades da sociedade civil nos temas transversais apoiado na legislação pertinente à etnia-raça e gênero. 

Rodrigo Milindre Gonzalez, Universidade do Vale do Itajaí. Escola de Ciências Jurídicas e Sociais (ECJS)

Mestre em Estudos Estratégicos pelo Programa de Pós-graduação em Estudos Estratégicos Internacionais da UFRGS (2016). Graduado em Relações Internacionais pela Universidade do Vale do Itajaí (2013). Professor titular das disciplinas de "Negociações Internacionais" e "Introdução ao Estudo das Relações Internacionais" na Escola de Ciências Jurídicas e Sociais da UNIVALI.

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Published

2018-09-28

How to Cite

Scherf, E. da L., & Gonzalez, R. M. (2018). CIVIL SOCIETY AND THE FIGHT FOR RECOGNITION OF THE FUNDAMENTAL LIBERTIES DURING PEACE NEGOTIATION PROCESSES: LESSONS FROM THE CIVIL WAR IN SIERRA LEONE AND FROM THE LOMÉ PEACE ACCORD. Conjuntura Global, 7(2). https://doi.org/10.5380/cg.v7i2.59393

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Vol. 7 No. 2 (2018)

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