The Africa Transitional Justice Legacy Fund (ATJLF) has announced a commitment of $2.68 million in support for civil society organizations (CSOs) and other sub-grants and human rights legacy projects across Nigeria and five other West African countries.
In a statement released on its website on Wednesday, June 26, 2024, the ATJLF, an extension of the MacArthur Foundation and WellSpring Philanthropic Fund, outlined the aims of the funding, which focuses on promoting African-led transitional justice efforts in the region.
According to the statement, the decision to provide this funding was made following deliberations by ATJLF executives, reflecting on the administration of justice and human rights situations in the region.
The ATJLF emphasized a shift from previous funding cycles, now approving two-year grants to fewer partners, providing more substantial financial and technical support compared to the smaller one-year grants previously given.
The statement read:
“The Africa Transitional Justice Legacy Fund (ATJLF) is pleased to announce a commitment of $2,680,000.00 in sub-grants and legacy projects following deliberations between staff and ATJLF’s Executive and Advisory Councils.
“A total of $1,555,000 will support fifteen (15) civil society organizations to advance transitional justice initiatives across six West African countries.
“The sum of $750,000 has been earmarked for a set of legacy-worthy projects that include organizational capacity building support for ATJLF grantees, and an additional $375,000 has been set aside for collaboration with regional and continental bodies.
“As ATJLF enters its Legacy Phase, building on six years of impactful work and culminating in its sunset at the end of 2026, this final round of funding places a premium on sustainable interventions in Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia, Mali, Northeast Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and The Gambia.”
Regarding the criteria for grants, the ATJLF highlighted its focus on stakeholders involved in the protection and promotion of human rights.
The statement added:
“In the grant awards criteria, we prioritized interventions that plug into institutional transitional justice efforts, and those with the potential to strengthen the agency of survivors and build the capacity of community-based partners to achieve policy and other outcomes that include the prevention of recurrence of gross violations of human rights.
“Approved grants prioritize the implementation of contextually relevant solutions that are in line with the African Union Transitional Justice Policy (AUTJP).”
The ATJLF also promised to deepen its collaboration with the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to ensure the effective design and implementation of the AUTJP and sub-regional policies and programs.
“ATJLF extends its gratitude and looks forward to continued work with grantee partners, the AU, ECOWAS, and the broader set of actors in the transitional justice space to build on these successes,” the statement added.
The Legacy Phase grants and projects will increase ATJLF’s total grant-related investment in the region to $5.8 million. Established in 2019, the fund addresses the need for African solutions to African problems, rooted in shared experiences, supporting responses to mass atrocities and the implementation of the African Union Transitional Justice Policy in seven West African countries: Gambia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire, Mali, and Nigeria.
