Reconciliation
equality. Furthermore, to reach communities at the grassroots
level, the OSCE organized lectures on the common values of different religions, so as to increase understanding and contribute to
combating violent extremism.
7. Lessons learned
Reconciliation and dealing with the past are long-term,
multi-layered, and complex processes that include dealing
with conflict-related crimes, human rights abuses, and divisive
memories. If not addressed, the transition from violent conflict to
sustainable peace becomes all the more challenging as past grievances and traumatic experiences feed future misperceptions,
prejudices, suspicion, and hate.
The OSCE’s experiences in South-Eastern Europe show that
addressing these challenges requires long-term and comprehensive approaches that involve many different stakeholders at
various levels. Capacity building—including technical and legal
support—for public institutions, the media, and community-level
representatives has been a critical part of the OSCE’s work to facilitate reconciliation processes in the region.
An important element of reconciliation is transitional justice,
which requires the legacy of conflict-related crimes and human
rights abuses to be dealt with in order to move forward on the
path to sustainable peace. Moreover, the OSCE’s experiences show
the need for transparency and accountability of reconciliation
processes and the stakeholders involved. History must become
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