36 results

Truth Telling, Identities, and Power in South Africa and Guatemala

Truth commissions can provide a stage for a potentially powerful encounter with the past (and present) at the level of public discourse. While their capacity to effect transformation in societies marked by patterns of identity-related marginalization and exclusion is limited (and the ...

by

Madeleine Fullard and Nicky Rousseau

Research Brief

Amnesty Does Not Erase the Truth

South Africa’s Constitutional Court recently made a landmark ruling on the right to speak the truth about crimes amnestied by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. ICTJ Truth-Seeking Consultant Howard Varney speaks about the ruling and its significance for South Africa and other countries.

05/02/11
In Focus

The Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation Commission: Reviewing the First Year

This paper provides an initial summary of the work of the Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and points to some of the key difficulties it has encountered. The Commission's first year was challenging: it effectively lost its full preparatory period and the first tw...

by

ICTJ

Report

Sierra Leone's Truth & Reconciliation Commission and Special Court: A Citizen's Handbook

This handbook explains the mandate, origins, purposes, and operating methods of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and Special Court in Sierra Leone. It discusses the differences and similarities between them, in clear, non-technical language. The TRC and Special Court can...

by

ICTJ, National Forum for Human Rights; Paul James-Allen, Sheku B.S. Lahai, Jamie O'Connell

Book

Ex-Combatant Views of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Special Court in Sierra Leone

This report presents a study of ex-combatants' knowledge and opinions of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and Special Court (SC) in Sierra Leone. Ex-combatants and these accountability institutions are interdependent. Ex-combatants need the TRC and SC to help them reinteg...

by

ICTJ, The Post-Conflict Reintegration Initiatives for Development

Report

Exploring the Relationship Between the Special Court and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Sierra Leone

This paper explores practical issues regarding the relationship between the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and Special Court (SC) in Sierra Leone. It looks at: 1) the legal relationship of the Commission and the Court; 2) the question of whether the TRC information should b...

by

ICTJ; Marieke Wierda, Priscilla Hayner, Paul van Zyl

Briefing Paper

Interview with Pablo Parenti on the ESMA trials in Argentina

ICTJ interview with Pablo Parenti, of the Attorney General’s Unit for coordination and monitoring cases involving violations of human rights during the Argentine dictatorship.

12/01/11
In Focus

Argentine ESMA Trials a New Phase for Democracy: Interview with Pablo Parenti

ICTJ spoke with Pablo Parenti about the trial that just concluded which investigated human rights violations and crimes against humanity that occurred at the Naval Mechanics School (ESMA), used as a detention and torture center during the Argentine dictatorship.

12/01/11
In Focus

Zuma’s Presidential Pardons Process “Unconstitutional”

Almost 150 criminals, racist killers, and those responsible for mass atrocities committed during and immediately after apartheid have been recommended for special pardon in a deeply flawed and unconstitutional process headed by President Jacob Zuma, the South African Coalition for Transitional Justice (SACTJ) warned today.

06/15/12
Press Releases

Decades After Dictatorship, Argentina's Courts Still Lead the Fight for Accountability

Argentina’s trials for crimes committed during the dictatorship of military juntas are widely seen as a successful national effort to seek accountability for past abuses. And while victims’ demands for justice continue to remain high, the judiciary is facing challenges to ensure the cases are dealt with expeditiously and fairly. In a interview for ICTJ's Spanish podcast series "Lessons from Latin America," Mirna Goransky, Assistant General Prosecutor for the Attorney General’s Office shares her perspectives on human rights trials in Argentina.

07/26/12
In Focus