what is the relationship between transitional justice and memory? despite the importance
of this question, scholars have largely left it unanswered. In fact, the present trend is to
tackle transitional justice(JT) and memory separately, with some researchers working on
transitional justice, mostly in the social sciences, and others working on memory, mainly in
the humanities . As barahona de brito has rightly argued (2010, 359), "studies of
transitional justice...and memory studies...have not crossed paths."
Undeniably there were some initial links between TJ and memory in the work of some
scholars, in particular those looking at memorialization through commemorative dates,
museums, and memorials, relatings to the traumatic events of the military dictatorships in
the Southern Cone of Latin America.
Employing the concept of "critical junctures" from the literature on political change, to
better understand modifications in TJ and memory narratives over time. Attention in also
focused on "memory narratives" to see how they are activated and used for political
purposes to justify the adoption of specific TJ policies. The book uses critical junctures,
moments of change or transitional, and demonstrates how they help explain shifts in TJ
and memory; critical junctures do not necessarily generate new TJ mechanisms or
memory narratives but rather account for why they evolve and change across time. This
project ins in line with an existing trend within the literature; indeed, TJ has become
increasingly relevant to other academic disciplines. Numerous publications have lately
explored the relationship between TJ and other fields, such as development, gender
studies, peace building, human rights, and memory studies.
This chapter initially deals with TJ and memory studies literatures individually, defining and
outlining key concepts and debates, and then attempts to bring them together in the
concluding section on critical junctures. The chapter endeavors to bult a new framework
for conceptualizing and analyzing the relationship between TJ and memory, and it argues
that it is important to detect and categorize critical junctures and their exact nature to
better understand modifications to TJ policy and the accompanying changes to hegemonic
memories in societies that are coming to terms with difficult past.
Español
Este capítulo trata inicialmente con TJ y las literaturas de los estudios de la memoria
individualmente, definiendo y delineando conceptos y debates clave, y luego intenta
reunirlos en la sección final sobre las coyunturas críticas. El capítulo trata de crear un
nuevo marco para conceptualizar y analizar la relación entre TJ y la memoria, y
argumenta que es importante detectar y categorizar las coyunturas críticas y su
naturaleza exacta para comprender mejor las modificaciones a la política de TJ y los
cambios que acompañan a las memorias hegemónicas en sociedades que están llegando
a un acuerdo con el pasado difícil.
Portugues
TJ has come a long way, form its origins in international lawand political science, it
now embraces several disciplines such as anthropology, peace and conflict
studies, international relations, psychology, and sociology. By 2013, it had two,
dedicated journals, the International journal of transitional justice and transitional
justice rewiew; a burgeoning bibliography of almost 2500 scholarly publications;
several research institutes and INGOs, including the International Center for
Transitional Justice in New York City.
The literature abounds with descriptions of the term TJ; therefore, it is important to
specify which definition is followed here. the 2004 UN Secretary General report
THe Rule of Law and Transitional Justice in Conflict and Post-conflict Societies
defined TJ as comprising.
This characterization importantly the complex and multiple moral, ethical, and
political questions associated with transitions and human rights violations;
encompasses a variety of TJ mechanisms of both retributive and restorative
natures; and recognizes the numerous spheres on which TJunfolds at national,
regional, and international levels.
TJ policies and mechanisms attempt to bridge "a violent or repressive past and a
peaceful, democratic future," establishing a clear distinction between "now and
then". Although there is no agreement on how best to confront the past, there is a
shared recognition that "some crimes are of such a magnitude that the wounds
they leave in society cannot and must not be simply swept under the rug" and that
revealing the truth about past abuses amounts to a "non-negotiable moral
obligation of governments". In the 1980s, trials were perceived as the optimal
method for responding to atrocities. Indeed, legalistic arguments supported the
existence of a universal duty to prosecute perpetrators of crimes like torture,
genocide, and war crimes, notably defined as the "procecution preference". Diane
Orentlicher, for instance, recognized that a duty to prosecute could not be
construed as demanding actions incompatible with political and legal dynamics on
the ground and be systematically applied to all cases; instead, a limited and
selective program of exemplary trials of individuals most responsible might be
sufficients.
While in the 1980s and early 1990s TJ mainly accurred after episodes of state
terrorism, lately it arises in the aftermath of armed conflict and during transitions
toward edgy peace. Because of the complexities that define contemporary
transitional societies, there is now increasing attention being paid to local dynamic,
culture, and heritage with the awareness that TJ "must be both contextually and
culturally appropriate"
Before examining the memory literature, the key TJ mechanisms discussed later in
the empirical chapters are briefly outlined here. these tools-some new, some
preexisting - were developed while endeavoring to strike an often difficult balance
between demands for justice by victims and requests for impunity by perpetrators
in the aftermath of violence; these encompass amnesty, truth commissions,
reparations, prosecutions, lustration and vetting, and grassroots approaches. This
book focuses on four of these, namely amnesties, trials, truth commissions, and
reparations, with a brief and basic description of each provided here. Detailed
discussions and debates surrounding each tool cannot be fully addressed in the
following setions; however, there is a wealth of literature worth exploring for that
purpose.
Amnesties
For long, confronting the past simply meant turning the page: amnesties were
enacted before or in the aftermath of transition in places as varied as Brazil,
Cambodia, Chile, Spain, Uganda, and South Africa.
Amnesties and pardons are generally granted by the executive or the legislature;
they often are component parts of peace accords, offered in exchange for the end
hostilities or to demobilize and resettle combatants. Former perpetrators frequently
retain significant authority and influence in new democratic settings and can pose a
real threat to the country´s stability and democratic consolidation. Thus, despite the
fact that international and regional human rights bodies have considered amnesty
laws incompatible with state obligations, amnesties and pardons have long been
the norm in context of impunity. Over the past 30 years, in spite of advances in
human rights accountability, amnesties have continued to be granted at a steady
rate.
Trials
Truth Commissions
Reparations
Truth alone is often insufficient for victims: "In the absence of other positive and
tangible manifestations truth, by itself, cam easily be considered as an empty
gesture,as cheap and inconsequential talk". Under international law, measures
used to remedy harm cam take five forms: restitution, compensation, rehabilitation,
satisfaction, and guarantees of nonrecurrence.
The victims´ right to reparations is rooted in tort law and the doctrine of state
responsibility, according to which "the state has a duty to compensate victims for
breaches of state obligations" regardless of leadership changes. In the context of
TJ, reparations demonstrate the willingness of the state to accept liability and
acknowledge human rights crimes, to satisfy the need for justice stemming from
victims and societies, and help them rebuild their lives. Reparations occupy a
unique space among TJ measures as they not only recognize individual suffering
but also seek to attain national and individual reconciliation. They denote sets of
coordinated measures that endeavor to provide direct benefits to victims; they cam
be material or symbolic, and distributed individually or collectively. Material
reparations constitute a form of compensation, that is, payments in cash, or service
packages, such as provisions for education, health, and housing. Symbolic
reparations fall under satisfaction and may include official apologies, changing
names of public spaces, the establishment of commemorative days, memorials to
the victims, and assistance in reburials and culturally appropriate mourning
ceremonies. Individual reparations give concrete benefits to recipients and
underscore the value of each human being, while collective reparations focus
instead on delivering benefits to people who suffered as a group.
Memory Studies
Similar to TJ, memory studies has also witnessed an unprecedented development
and attracted rising academic interest.
In fact, memory has become a central concept for research, touching nearly every
academic field in the humanities and the social sciences.
Which almost immediately established itself as one of the most consulted online
journals, Centre for Memory Studies
This interdisciplinary subject has surfaced from the study of the remembrance of
the two World Wars, the traumatic legacy of the Holocaust, and how these events
prompted particularly profound forms of memory. Work on memory dates back to
the nineteenth century, but only recently has attention been paid to the category of
victims, recognizing in particular the significance of memories produced by
traumatic events.
Since the mid 1990s, a concern with the traumatic experience of state terrorism in
latin America has materialized, examining especially the impact of political
repression, severe abuses including torture and enforced disappearances of
people,and the profound, lingering social and cultural consequences. The famous
slogan "Nunca más" (Never Again) embodied the commitment that the memory of
the recent past had to be preserved to avoid a similar future for these societies - in
addition to the fight for truth and justice. An academic interest has surfaced on
questions of memory, especially its sources, the vehicles for its diffusion and
communication, as well as inter and intragenerational mechanisms of memory
transmission. A network of regional and international academics and experts began
to study the reverberations of memory and its manifestations in various countries
including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay.
The word "memory" comes from ancient Greek; memoria was the mother of the
Muses and "the basic form of our relationship to the past, of our existence in time".
Although memory is an elusive concept, the literature abounds with varied
definitions and it is therefore importante to outline the concept of memory used in
this book. The definition of memory as "the process or faculty whereby events or
impressions from the past are recollected and preserved" seems the most
appropriate within the context of this book.
Memory depends upon past events or experiences, but it is always also connected
to the circumstances in which it is produced, including elements of the present.
every time a past memory is evoked. Memory is therefore as much about the
present and the future as it is about the past. Memories are thus not simple
recollections but rather meanigs are fiercely contested. Both public and private
memories make claims about the past that are not acceptable to everybody. In
these debates, questions are posed about what the past means in the present, the
meanings of the present itself, and ways of taking the past forward. Memory is
highly and intrinsically selective, comprising acts of recovering and practices of
suppression".The past is subject to being reconstructed and rewritten according to
present views and needs, "a flexible process of composition and recomposition, of
casting and recasting the past in its relation to present circumstances and future
expectations". Given that the past is malleable - not an immutable narrative - it can
be manipulated, as policy actors consciously decide which particular historical
episodes should be recalled according to their objectives.
"The past is not dead. In fact, it is not even past". Yet the past opposes resistance
and cannot be reconstructed at will.
Memories are deeply constructive acts: they do not simply recall past events and
emotions associated with those experiences but also confer meaning to what is
being remembered in the present. In this book, memory is understood as a
narrative; this approach underscores the deeply selective and constructive nature
of memory and draws attention to the continued attribution and reattribution of
meaning to specific events in the past through their recounting.
Rather, those that are transformed into memories emerge because individuals
have engaged and connected with recollections from the past, bestowing meaning
upon them in the present.
Individuals do not live in isolation, and most of their actions take place within a
societal setting.
Individuals can evoke their past precisely because they belong to a certain social
group. The interests and experiences of the group shape members´memories,
while group membership enables individuals to remember and recreate their own
experiences collectively.
Memory Narratives
Memory narratives set out specific interpretations and understandings of the facts,
and they acquire different levels of legitimacy and appeal within society depending
on how compellingly such narratives present a contested past.
Several memory narratives are likely to emerge, and they will continue to evolve
into the present and future, across decades, for as long as events remain subject
to contestation, even affecting several generations. Therefore, it is necessary to
trace memory narratives botn at the time at which they originated and their later
articulations.Indeed, memory narratives are extremely dynamic and continuously
evolving: the initical portrayal of specific events is likely to be revisited at different
moment as the contested facts become more distant in time; moreover, memory
narratives of traumatic events are likely to persist for substantial periods of time
given the profoundly emotional connotation that they have. In fact, memories of
traumatic historical periods "regardless of whether they are accurate or inaccurate,
cam be better retained"
Español
Justicia transicional
Las políticas y los mecanismos de TJ intentan tender un puente entre "un pasado
violento o represivo y un futuro pacífico y democrático", estableciendo una clara
distinción entre "de vez en cuando". Aunque no hay acuerdo sobre la mejor forma
de enfrentar el pasado, existe un reconocimiento compartido de que "algunos
crímenes son de tal magnitud que las heridas que dejan en la sociedad no pueden
y no deben simplemente ser barridas bajo la alfombra" y eso revela la verdad
sobre los abusos del pasado equivale a una "obligación moral no negociable de
los gobiernos". En la década de 1980, los ensayos se percibieron como el método
óptimo para responder a las atrocidades. De hecho, los argumentos legalistas
respaldaban la existencia de un deber universal de perseguir a los autores de
crímenes como la tortura, el genocidio y los crímenes de guerra, definidos en
particular como la "preferencia de procedimiento". Diane Orentlicher, por ejemplo,
reconoció que el deber de enjuiciar no podía interpretarse como una exigencia de
acciones incompatibles con las dinámicas políticas y jurídicas sobre el terreno y
aplicarse sistemáticamente a todos los casos; en cambio, un programa limitado y
selectivo de ensayos ejemplares de los individuos más responsables podría ser
suficiente.
Pruebas
Comisiones de la verdad
Indemnización/Reparación
La verdad sola a menudo es insuficiente para las víctimas: "En ausencia de otras
manifestaciones positivas y tangibles, la verdad, en sí misma, puede ser
fácilmente considerada como un gesto vacío, como una conversación barata e
intrascendente". Según el derecho internacional, las medidas utilizadas para
remediar el daño pueden adoptar cinco formas: restitución, compensación,
rehabilitación, satisfacción y garantías de no repetición.
El derecho a las reparaciones de las víctimas está enraizado en la ley de agravios
y la doctrina de la responsabilidad del estado, según la cual "el estado tiene el
deber de compensar a las víctimas por incumplimientos de las obligaciones del
estado" independientemente de los cambios de liderazgo. En el contexto de TJ,
las reparaciones demuestran la voluntad del Estado de aceptar responsabilidad y
reconocer crímenes de derechos humanos, satisfacer la necesidad de justicia que
proviene de las víctimas y las sociedades, y ayudarlos a reconstruir sus vidas. Las
reparaciones ocupan un espacio único entre las medidas TJ ya que no solo
reconocen el sufrimiento individual sino que también buscan alcanzar la
reconciliación nacional e individual. Denotan conjuntos de medidas coordinadas
que se esfuerzan por proporcionar beneficios directos a las víctimas; pueden ser
materiales o simbólicos, y distribuirse individual o colectivamente. Las
reparaciones materiales constituyen una forma de compensación, es decir, pagos
en efectivo o paquetes de servicios, como provisiones para educación, salud y
vivienda. Las reparaciones simbólicas están sujetas a satisfacción y pueden incluir
disculpas oficiales, nombres cambiantes de espacios públicos, el establecimiento
de días conmemorativos, monumentos conmemorativos a las víctimas y asistencia
en nuevos entierros y ceremonias de luto culturalmente apropiadas. Las
reparaciones individuales otorgan beneficios concretos a los beneficiarios y
subrayan el valor de cada ser humano, mientras que las reparaciones colectivas
se centran en cambio en la entrega de beneficios a las personas que sufrieron
como grupo.
Estudios de memoria
Al igual que TJ, los estudios de memoria también han sido testigos de un
desarrollo sin precedentes y atrajeron un interés académico creciente.
Que casi de inmediato se estableció como una de las revistas en línea más
consultadas, Center for Memory Studies
Este tema interdisciplinario surgió del estudio del recuerdo de las dos guerras
mundiales, el legado traumático del Holocausto y cómo estos eventos provocaron
formas de memoria particularmente profundas. El trabajo sobre la memoria se
remonta al siglo XIX, pero solo recientemente se ha prestado atención a la
categoría de víctimas, reconociendo en particular la importancia de los recuerdos
producidos por eventos traumáticos.
La palabra "memoria" proviene del griego antiguo; memoria fue la madre de las
Musas y "la forma básica de nuestra relación con el pasado, de nuestra existencia
en el tiempo". Aunque la memoria es un concepto elusivo, la literatura abunda en
definiciones variadas y, por lo tanto, es importante describir el concepto de
memoria utilizado en este libro. La definición de memoria como "el proceso o la
facultad por la cual los recuerdos o eventos del pasado se recogen y preservan"
parece ser la más apropiada dentro del contexto de este libro.
En segundo lugar, los recuerdos son tanto personales como sociales / colectivos.
Los recuerdos individuales no existen per se, sino que se revelan a través de "el
acto narrativo compartido" de contar y escuchar.
En tercer lugar, la memoria es selectiva, marcada por una tensión constante entre
recordar y olvidar. Recordar - Por su propia naturaleza - implica olvidar, y olvidar
es posible solo cuando se produce el recuerdo en primer lugar. La memoria es una
grabación subjetiva del pasado que no se puede separar de los observadores y
sus motivaciones individuales. Los recuerdos son interpretaciones altamente
selectivas y subjetivas de la realidad, al servicio de intereses particulares y
posiciones ideológicas, y se entienden mejor como construcciones políticas y
sociales.
Narrativas de memoria
El término "narrativas de memoria" se refiere a una mezcla de recuerdos
individuales y colectivos.
Portugues
Justiça transitória
Amnistias
Ensaios
Comissões da verdade
Reparações
Estudos de Memória
Semelhante ao TJ, estudos de memória também testemunharam um
desenvolvimento sem precedentes e atraíram o crescente interesse acadêmico.
O que quase imediatamente se estabeleceu como uma das revistas online mais
consultadas, Center for Memory Studies
A palavra "memória" vem do grego antigo; memoria era a mãe das Musas e "a
forma básica do nosso relacionamento com o passado, da nossa existência no
tempo". Embora a memória seja um conceito indescritível, a literatura é abundante
em definições variadas e, portanto, é importante descrever o conceito de memória
usado neste livro. A definição de memória como "processo ou faculdade em que
eventos ou impressões do passado são recolhidas e preservadas" parece mais
apropriada no contexto deste livro.
"O passado não está morto. Na verdade, nem é passado". No entanto, o passado
se opõe à resistência e não pode ser reconstruído à vontade.
Em terceiro lugar, a memória é seletiva, marcada por uma tensão constante entre
lembrar e esquecer. Lembrando - Por sua própria natureza - implica esquecer, e o
esquecimento é possível somente onde a lembrança ocorre em primeiro lugar. A
memória é uma gravação subjetiva do passado que não pode ser separada dos
observadores e suas motivações individuais. As memórias são, portanto,
interpretações altamente seletivas e subjetivas da realidade, que servem a
interesses particulares e posições ideológicas, e são melhor compreendidas como
construções políticas e sociais.
Narrativas de Memória
O termo "narrativas de memória" refere-se a uma mistura de memórias individuais
e coletivas.