resolution. Women’s experiences show that women in conflict and in post conflict situations face fundamental challenges in accessing institutions of justice and obtaining meaningful remedies. This is due to various factors such as limited law and order institutional infrastructure, personnel and lack of gender responsive procedures, processes and orientation of officials. Even where traditional justice mechanisms exist, these may reinforce gender stereotypes and norms that may be harmful to women, survivors and communities, as the adjudicators often lack human rights awareness. The African Union Transitional Justice Policy Framework that was adopted in February 2019 calls for transformative transitional justice mechanisms and provides benchmarks and indicators on gender justice and accountability. In post conflict situations, the preventative, protection and response capacities of states is compromised. Similarly, the capacities of survivors to claim redress is challenged by various constraints at the personal and familial level. Many weakened states or states that are faced with competing development challenges are yet to establish national legal aid schemes and it many countries civil society and women’s organisations are working alongside government legal services to deliver free legal aid to victims. Justice and rule of law institutions that are gender blind cannot deliver justice for women who have been victims of violent conflict, neither can it provide effective sanctions to prevent impunity. It is critical that justice mechanisms not only integrate procedural and legal aspects of gender justice but also reflect these norms in the services and personnel that administer cases. Rwanda has actively promoted women adjudicators in conflict resolution and peacebuilding, having appointed female judges constituting 30 percent of the over 160,000 Gacaca judges. This is notable because traditionally the gacaca were patriarchal structures that excluded women.247 Furthermore, the national women councils mobilised witnessing the trials of the Gacaca courts, 248 women to participate in in itself a notable feature of gender justice. The Abunzi- Community Mediators- of Rwanda249 facilitate peacebuilding , of 247 Republic of Rwanda ‘Role of Women in Peace Building and Conflict Resolution in Rwanda: Evaluation of the Implementation of the 2009-2012 National Action Plan for UNSCR 1325’ Gender Monitoring Unit, 2015 248 The National Unity and Reconciliation Commission ‘The Role of Women in Reconciliation and Peace Building in Rwanda: Ten Years After Genocide 1994-2004 249 ibid 85