ATJLF becomes independent public charity, gets new advisory committee

The Africa Transitional Justice Legacy Fund (ATJLF) says it has become a fully independent public charity limited by guarantee.

The group, based in Accra, Ghana, announced the development in a statement on Tuesday.

The Fund, which began as a project with a three-year lifespan, now has a renewed mandate to continue advancing transitional justice and other human rights efforts in Africa through grant-making, network-building, and technical assistance.

ATJLF has two complementary programme focus areas — aims to rebuild communities and promote survivor agency in post-conflict environments and also reparative justice and racial healing.

It supports transitional justice responses to mass atrocities, and the implementation of the African Union Transitional Justice Policy in Africa, beginning with seven West African countries — Liberia, The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Mali, Guinea, Cote D’Ivoire and north-eastern Nigeria.

“We are aware of the growing difficulty in accessing funding support for transitional justice and other human rights issues in Africa. So, we are particularly pleased with the flexibility of our principal funders, to allow the Fund to morph into a fully-fledged organisation,” Makmid Kamara, director of ATJLF, said.

“This transformation from a project to an independent entity will enable us to engage more securely in supporting transformative and impactful justice-related issues in Africa. It also offers an opportunity for us to explore for more funding opportunities to support TJ and related efforts on the continent.”

ATJLF also announced that it has reconstituted its seven-member advisory committee by adding three new members.

“All three members will serve an initial term of three years. They join the other permanent AC members who are representatives of the two funding foundations. The Advisory Committee makes the grant decisions for the organisation,” the group said.