The paper presents a more holistic interpretation of the legal disputes, defending the search for dimensions of legal rights, the interests and the moral recognition. Thus, discussing the role of Law and the Judicial System in the democratic transition processes some models of transitional justice are classified according to their capacity of promoting social reconstruction and psychological restoration of the ones involved through a dialogical process that allows the emergence of considerations related to the recognition and dignity of the victims.
The primary question in this dissertation concerns the relationship between transitional justice policies and democratic consolidation. It is often assumed that transitional justice will have a positive impact on consolidation, but this is rarely examined or empirically tested. The goals of this dissertation are twofold, to contribute to the empirical investigation of transitional justice effects and to refine our understanding of how these effects happen. Accordingly, among the aspects of transitional justice policies investigated here are initial policy choice and intensity, as well as variation in the policies' procedural characteristics. Using evidence from criminal prosecution and political screening policies in post-communist Germany and Poland, this dissertation first argues that a wide range of transitional justice policies is compatible with democratic consolidation. Second, in developing a framework for how to study the effects of transitional justice policies it assesses the roles of intensity versus procedural variables (including the criteria for evaluation and institutional capacity). Their effects are disaggregated into three categories: membership, educational, and symbolic. Evidence from Germany and Poland shows that variations in these three categories of effects were more the result of procedural factors than of the intensity of transitional justice. More specifically, high intensity of criminal trials and screening is necessary but not sufficient to produce extensive punishments and/or dismissals. Variations in intensity establish the range of potential exclusions, but the actual magnitude and distribution of membership effects is determined by the criteria used for evaluating subjects and the capacity of implementing institutions. Moreover, criteria and institutional capacity consistent with democratic rule of law norms are likely to reduce the magnitude of exclusions. Intensity is not strongly related to educational effects, in particular the release of new information about the past regime, which are shaped instead by procedural factors. Intensity is one of several possible influences on symbolic effects of transitional justice policies, but only in combination with procedural variables, particularly criteria for evaluation and institutional capacity. In short, transitional justice policies have multifaceted and indirect effects that, within broad limits set by intensity, are likely to be determined by variations in the process of implementation
Despite the significant impact of the media in transitional justice processes, this relationship remains underexplored. The role of the media in building narratives of conflict and past human rights violations was traditionally framed within the dichotomy of promoting peace vs inflicting war. Yet, these roles, as well as the media systems themselves, need to be placed within more complex frameworks. This article analyses some of the key themes that connect transitional justice (the right to truth, justice, reparations and guarantees of non-repetition) and the media. The primary conclusion is that we need to go beyond the role of the media as an observer, and frame it as a possible agent of the overall process of conflict transformation and transitional justice.
Commentators have wrongly assumed that the operations and outcomes of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) reflected the intentions of the African National Congress (ANC) government that instigated it. In line with its agenda of substantive social history, the ANC intended to establish a new Gramscian 'common sense' of anti-colonialism and self-determination to drive anti-apartheid transformation. As part of its additional aim for an institutional intervention, the ANC sought to renovate the inherited technology of the colonial commission of inquiry itself. As the paper shows, these aims were overturned through the superimposition of 'transitional justice' within the workings of the TRC and the TRC's 'Final Report'. The continuing implications of this abduction are addressed in closing.
This dissertation considers theory from the field of Memory Studies to compare the relationships between transitional justice, cultural production, and discourses on state terror and human rights. The most recent civic-military dictatorships in Brazil (1964-1985), Uruguay (1973-1985), and Argentina (1976-1983) remain unresolved histories in the collective imaginaries of each country. The fields of literary and media studies often point to the cultural production that represents this period as contributing to the construction of memory, and, therefore, against impending oblivion. My dissertation moves beyond the binary logic of remembrance and oblivion to analyze the ways in which cultural production shapes our understanding of the dictatorships and their aftermath. Chapter 1, "The Survivor on Screen: Film in Post-dictatorship Brazil," focuses on the films Que bom te ver viva (L�cia Murat, 1989), A��o entre amigos (Beto Brant, 1998), and Hoje (Tata Amaral, 2011) to understand the extent to which they reinforce or reject the notion that the only people affected by the dictatorship were the militants who took up arms against the regime. Chapter 2, "Unfinished Stories: Film in Post-Dictatorship Uruguay," analyzes the films Zanahoria (Enrique Buchichio, 2014), Matar a todos (Esteban Schroeder, 2007), and Secretos de lucha (Maiana Bidegain, 2007), which all depict the past as unresolved. Each of these films has an inconclusive ending, implying that Uruguayan transitional justice is yet to come. Chapter 3, "Towards Inclusive Victimhood and Memory: Post-dictatorship Film in Argentina," analyzes Cautiva (Gast�n Biraben, 2003), Los Rubios (Albertina Carri, 2003), and Buenos Aires Viceversa (Alejandro Agresti, 1996) as examples of works that challenge the canonized memories of the dictatorship as well as the widely accepted notions of victimhood, pushing for the consideration of traditionally excluded subjectivities. This chapter addresses the intergenerational struggle over memory and the victims of economic crises in the post-dictatorship. This dissertation investigates the impact that political and legal frameworks have on filmmaking, on storytelling, and on how the past is remembered, contributing to research on the intersection between memory studies, transitional justice, and the cultural field.
In: Diaz Pabon , F 2018 , Transitional justice and the 'Colombian peace process' . in ruth, Justice and Reconciliation in Colombia : Transitioning from Violence . 1 edn , Routledge , London , pp. 1-12 .
The signing of the peace agreements between the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia – Ejército del Pueblo (FARC-EP) and the Government of Colombia in late November 2016 has generated new prospects for peace in Colombia, opening the possibility of redressing the harms inflicted on Colombians by Colombians. The negotiation agenda established the topic of justice for victims as central to the peace process. The document presents an analysis of how the Colombian agreements are positioned with regards to the transitional justice 'international' debates. In particular, it discusses the agreements in light of the restorative and retributive justice debates that inform the theory and the practice of the field. Finally, the chapter outlines the structure of the book, and summarizes some of the challenges on what is required to bring justice to the victims of the Colombian conflict in accordance with the peace agreement and the transitional justice frameworks it establishes with regards to: reconciliation, memory, education, land, gender, demobilization, and reintegration.
The purpose of this project is to explore the role of transitional justice mechanisms in directing the peace process, constitution making, and power sharing in Nepal. For more than ten years Nepal experienced violent conflict between the national army and an insurgent political movement led by the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist. The conflict claimed more than 13,000 lives and was characterized by widespread cases of disappearance. The families of those who were abducted or killed without a trace remain without answers, and the call for a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to document past injustices is strong. In March 2012, I travelled to Nepal with URI's Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies to participate in a cross-cultural nonviolence training with Nepali human rights advocates, social workers and graduate students. I conducted interviews with the participants and administered a survey to discern the underlying social causes of the violence that occurred from 1996-2006 and to identify the social institutions that allowed the violence to continue for so long. The survey aimed to evaluate the role of the international community and to answer the question of how to confront the violent events of the past without threatening national unity. Here I present a report on the results of this survey, critically evaluate the strengths and limitations of Nepal's Truth and Reconciliation Commission proposed framework, and attempt to answer how a Truth and Reconciliation Commission will move Nepal towards a more democratic, peaceful, just and equitable nation.
Indonesia is one of the most democratized countries in Asia. There have been some improvements both in political and legal aspects; the most powerful legal reform was the amendments of the 1945 Constitution. In the context of civil and political rights, Indonesian people have exercised their constitutional rights to select political leaders, rotate elites and to enjoy greater civil liberty, even though there are still many rooms for improvements. One of the most vital hurdles is the failure of the reformed governments to settle gross-violation of human rights cases happened in the past. Suharto's authoritarian regime had exercised repressive actions toward oppositions and civil society movements, including universities' students, activists and minorities. The ad hoc Court of Human Rights had failed to reveal the truth for some prominent cases, let alone providing remedy and reconciliation. It was highly believed that the trials were conducted only as safeguards to prevent international intervention on Indonesia's past unlawful violations.
The signing of the peace agreements between the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia-Ejército del Pueblo (FARC-EP) and the Government of Colombia in late November 2016 has generated new prospects for peace in Colombia, opening up the possibility of redressing the harms inflicted on Colombians by Colombians. The negotiation process and the agreements have been explicit about the importance of justice and the prioritization of victims. In fact, the negotiation agenda established the topic of justice for victims as central to the peace process. Other elements of the agreements relate to land, demobilization, disarmament and reintegration of cadres, illicit crops and illicit drugs, and political participation. The agreements regarding victims and justice present a roadmap for a journey towards a more peaceful environment. They signal the intention and commitment of actors to reach this goal, but institution building and specific policies and programmes to implement these agreements are necessary to achieve it. Statehood and peace have never been built by decree; they are built by institutions, bureaucrats, and by government policies that are consistent across time. Peacebuilding and state-building must not be seen as processes which are disconnected from justice. The strengthening of institutions, endowments, processes, and practices that realize the agreements signed in a peace process will condition the possibility of justice agreements being implemented. They also affect citizens' perceptions of the credibility of their state. For this process of state-building and for the consolidation of a justice framework to take place successfully, institutions and the state apparatus must assess the gaps between the commitments contained in the agreements and the realities of the country. This ensures that institutions can be designed to implement procedures and processes accordingly. If we are talking about peace and justice seriously we need to think about how to operationalize peace agreements, otherwise we risk ...
This piece explores and critiques the project of transitional justice. It has been more than a quarter of a century since transitional justice burst onto the global stage. Over the years it has come to be billed as a panacea for addressing deeply embedded social and political dysfunction after periods of mass repression and violence. Many theorists and policy makers have argued that it is a key bridge to sustainable peace, democracy and human rights. But the historical record is not clear about a direct causal relationship between transitional justice mechanisms and specific outcomes in post-conflict societies. In some cases, truth commissions, criminal prosecutions and other transitional justice interventions appear to have given society a chance at a new and hopeful beginning. In others, conflicts have either re-emerged or been exacerbated. Which begs the question, is transitional justice the appropriate vehicle for achieving these goals? If it does not always lead to positive outcomes, why not? Are there conceptual problems and theoretical deficiencies in how we make sense of justice and transitions that account for the failures? Or is it the translation of transitional justice norms into practice that is wanting? The big question is this: Does transitional justice have a future, given its mixed record? This piece focuses on the meaning of the concept, how its application has evolved and whether it is sustainable as theory and praxis. How defined is the concept of transitional justice? What exactly does it entail and what does it seek to achieve? Are political democracy, the rule of law and human rights – the pivots of liberalism – the desired end results implicit in transitional justice approaches? If so, why should liberalism be the germ of the new post-conflict society? If transitional justice promotes liberalism, who gains and who loses if it succeeds? How would liberalism address deeply rooted cultural, colonial and ethnic rivalries and inequities? Would structures of deep inequity be vanquished by these norms? Or does this conception of transitional justice exacerbate conflicts as it seeks to transform societies? Who pays for transformation? What about market forces and norms – do they fuel or contain conflict? If existing transitional justice concepts are inadequate to recover, or reclaim, societies sickened by violence and repression, are there alternatives? If so, how do those alternatives compare with present conceptualizations of transitional justice? Should the term 'transitional justice' itself be abandoned?
With the end of the Lord's Resistance Army conflict in northern Uganda, efforts of dealing with the violent past and paving the way for a more just, peaceful future are now taking shape in Uganda and especially the northern region. Existing frameworks and proposals for transitional justice emphasize traditional justice, the option of establishing a truth commission, formal justice and reparations most prominently. Despite the strong involvement of children and youths in the conflict – as victims and perpetrators – their inclusion in, needs for and expectations of transitional justice have barely been explored or acknowledged. This thesis thus aims at exploring ways in which formerly abducted children can be included in such processes in meaningful ways that accommodate for their needs and preferences. Since the existing research and literature on the field of child soldiers and transitional justice is rather limited, field work has been conducted in northern Uganda in November and December of 2012. A total of 17 people were interviewed representing a variety of local, national and international organizations as well as government agencies specializing in the fields of transitional justice or child protection, and rehabilitation of former child soldiers. Semistructured interviews with open-ended questions were conducted and the gathered qualitative data was used to substantiate, complement or fill gaps in the existing body of research on the topic. The findings of this thesis conclude that there is a need for comprehensive, inclusive transitional justice mechanisms that acknowledge former abductees in their dual role as victims and perpetrators. A desire for active government involvement and participation in these processes has been emphasized strongly. The research has furthermore shown the need for transitional justice mechanisms to foster agency and the empowerment of formerly abducted children and youths in order to enable them to become active, resourceful members of their communities.
Transitional justice in the post-communist countries of Eastern Europe concentrates on the problem of the lustration of former secret service officers and their clandestine collaborators and on the question of access to files created by the communist political police. The aim of the article is to present the Polish experience in this field in view of the theoretical framework available in transitional justice literature. Thus, the text begins with definitions of some basic notions connected with dealing with the past. The article also proposes three basic models of transitional justice. The third part offers an account of Polish lustration and public disclosure measures and assigns those instruments to the models of transitional justice. The final section presents some concluding remarks on the evolution of Polish lustration.
Transitional Justice is a long-term process which seeks to address severe human rights abuses of the past through measures such as trials, commissions of inquiry, memorials, apologies, reforms of the legal or security sector, school textbook reforms, and reconciliation projects. These measures are usually applied by governments, but can also be initiated by civil society groups, such as victim groups, or the international community, for example the European Union or the UNHCR. Transitional justice measures are seen as catalysts for coming to terms with the past and establishing new, stable, and often democratic societies. As such, the measures are linked to the performance and efficacy of democratic institutions in the context of their accountability and responsiveness, transparency, and level of citizen participation. Thus, transitional justice is a process that aims to reconcile divided and conflict-torn societies by re-establishing (democratic) institutions. These measures can be catalysts to leverage institutional performance.
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book begins with a brief history of the conflict and of previous peace processes, making the case that the current peace process is best understood in relation to the wider historical process of state consolidation and successive peace attempts in Colombia. The book discusses in detail the agreements between the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia—Ejercito del Pueblo (FARC—EP) and the Colombian Government and its transitional justice component. The book focuses on identifying the challenges facing the implementation of the objectives of the transitional justice component of the peace agreement between the FARC—EP and the Colombian Government. It examines the challenges encountered in relation to policies regarding land and its restitution in Colombia. The Colombian Government has implemented and experimented with a diversity of measures in pursuit of justice and transitional justice in Colombia.
