Forensic investigation, truth and trust in the context of transitional justice in Brazil

In: Human remains and violence: an interdisciplinary journal, Band 3, Heft 2, S. 74-97

Abstract

Truth commissions are widely recognised tools used in negotiation following political
repression. Their work may be underpinned by formal scientific investigation of human
remains. This paper presents an analysis of the role of forensic investigations in the
transition to democracy following the Brazilian military governments of 1964–85. It
considers practices during the dictatorship and in the period following, making reference
to analyses of truth commission work in jurisdictions other than Brazil, including those
in which the investigation of clandestine burials has taken place. Attempts to conceal the
fate of victims during the dictatorship, and the attempts of democratic governments to
investigate them are described. Despite various initiatives since the end of the military
government, many victims remain unidentified. In Brazil, as elsewhere, forensic
investigations are susceptible to political and social influences, leading to a situation
in which relatives struggle to obtain meaningful restitution and have little trust in the
transitional justice process.