Truth Commissions and Social Justice: ‘Wishful Thinking or Not Very Thoughtful Wishing’?

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Though there are debates about the definition, transitional justice is largely seen as ‘the full range of processes and mechanisms associated with a society's attempts to come to terms with a legacy of large-scale past abuses, in order to ensure accountability, serve justice and achieve reconciliation’. These measures include, amongst others, domestic and international(ised) trials, truth commissions, reparation programmes, vetting and lustration practices, documentation, memorialisation, legal reforms, and other efforts made to promote reconciliation. In general, the different processes aim to make a clear break from past abusive practices so that trust may be re-established between different groups in society and the state. They are largely based on the notion that backward-looking processes, namely those that acknowledge and address abuses suffered by victims, are necessary in order to help transition out of conflict or repression and into societies that respect democracy, human rights, and the rule of law.

Yet, despite the wide range of innovative responses that have been developed, it has become clear that the implementation of transitional justice processes is not a remedy for all of a society's problems. Nor should they be seen in this light. Rather, they are meant to help with the transition from authoritarian rule to democracy or from conflict to peace by addressing past abuses. Yet, as has Often been the case, past abuses are addressed in an unsatisfactory manner, or not addressed at all. Trials cannot prosecute all crimes, vetting processes cannot cover all institutions or individuals, and reparations cannot redress all harms suffered. Some of the most pertinent criticism of transitional justice processes is that they tend to be rooted in westernised, liberal and legalistic approaches to justice. They predominately focus on violations of civil and political rights (loss of life or violations of physical integrity), while largely ignoring violations of economic, social and cultural (ESC) rights, broader structures of inequality, poverty or corruption. Issues such as social, cultural or religious discrimination or exclusion, the erosion of livelihoods through corrupt practices by a small elite, the denial of worker rights, and interference with access to food, water, education and healthcare are Often left untouched by conventional transitional justice processes or only referred to as context, even when these problems are part of the specific abuses that took place.