Truth and Reconciliation Processes: Aiding community healing through addressing impunity
March 26 – April 1
New Tactics in Human Rights’ featured online discussion for March will focus on ways in which Truth and Reconciliation processes have and are being implemented to aid community healing.
Some fundamental concepts behind Truth and Reconcilation (TRC) processes include: 1) future reconciliation is necessary for there to be a peaceful co-existence in a country or community; 2) that reconciliation and peaceful coexistence rest upon knowing as complete a picture as possible of the nature, causes and extent of gross violations of human rights that have been committed; and 3) there must be public recognition of the truth that had been hidden for so long by a multitude of falsehoods.
This dialogue seeks to share experiences transitional justice processes known as Truth and Reconciliation Commissions, instituted with the aim of exploring the truth hidden behind pasts characterized by gross abuses of human rights. The conflicts experienced in the countries and contexts of our resource people have unique and particular characteristics. However, we believe that the sharing of these experiences and those of the broader New Tactics community who take part in this dialogue will yield useful lessons for other contexts considering the use of TRC process. Because the effects that violence has on people are always devastating - rippling from the individual to the family to the community to the nation; they demand a treatment that is not only individual, but collective.
There are many questions of importance for our dialogue and we look forward to the many questions that will be raised by the participants. A foundational, and often contentious, question is "What do we mean by ‘truth’?" and as a result, "How do TRC processes deal with the unraveling of differing histories, truths and memories?"
Join our featured resource people and share your own experiences, insights and questions. (Click here for help on how to participate in the dialogue)
Our featured resource people include:
|
Row1 L-R: Galuh Wandita, Jose Caetano Guterres, and Patrick Burgess (East Timor TRC); Jennifer Prestholdt, Ahmed K. Sirleaf II, and Laura Young (Liberia Diaspora Project Team) Row2 L-R: Sofia Macher (Peru TRC); Greensboro TRC process team; Glenda Wildschut, and Paul Haupt (South Africa TRC); Neneh Barry (Sierra Leone TRC) |
Bookmark/Search this post with:
Reflections on Timor Leste (posted by Jose Caetano Guterres)
I would like to start my participation in the new tactics dialog by sharing with you on my experience with trc in Timor Leste. This reflection will be as a respond to the following questions:
- What was your goal for using a TRC process? What were the expected or hoped for outcomes?
The goal of the TRC process in Timor Leste was to build peace foundation for Timor Leste to by conducting truth seeking on human rights violations that were happened in Timor Leste from 1974 - 1999. As we aware that Timor Leste has very dificult history that have been destryed relationships during 24 years conflict under Indonesian occupation. So, we need a procees to deal with our past and find ways to build peace as foundation for nation building.This is very dificult question for me to reflect on the TRC process in Timor Leste. I found that TRC process in Timor Leste has rised lots of participatino and expectation of victims, family of victims to a chieve justice as promise. The report was about more then 2500 pages. It was about facts of human rights violations from 1974 - 1999 including 200 recomendations about dealing with past and prevent to not repeating human rights violations in the future. Timor Leste has good dream to build peace foundation as mentioned in number 1 but it has been no outcomes. It was just because since the report hand over to the President, National Parliements and UN up to date The State have doing nothing to the report. It was not debated officialy in the Parliement.
- What were the
challenges? What were the issues that the process could not address?
How is this affecting what is happening now in your country?I think during the implementation of the TRC process there was no challenges that faced by TRC. I can say that it was success full and victims and family of the victims has very much supporting the process. The only challenges is that this was the first ASian TRC that happened in Timor Leste. It was a new process that happened in a new country like Timor Leste. So we are like doin learning by doing. Even though in the end we feel success because people has been contributed to the process and tell the truth about human rights violations drung 24 years from 1974 - 1999. The other challenges was time. It was because we are dealing with 24 years of conflict but we only got 2.5 years to implement the big mandate of truth seeking and facilitating community reconciliation. But i also think that after the report was hand over another challenges that we are facing was political will from Timorese leadears to debate and implement these recomendations. Also political will of Indonesia and International community that were contribute to the conflict in Timor Leste from 1974 - 1999.- What are the 'lessons learned'? What would you do differently if presented with the opportunity to do the TRC process again?
For time been i think that TRC process is important for Timor Leste to deal with past and to bring justice to the people of Timor Leste. But first we need political will of Timorese leaders and International community to implement the recomendations mentioned in the report. If the leadersd are failed to implement the recomendation it means nothing for victims and we don't need another TRC process again. For me it will just like open wounds but no idea bout how to heal and recovered the wounds. This is a disaster for the Timor Leste.- What are the critiques surrounding this tactic? And how do we overcome these critiques?
The critics was TRC is only a project and it will just finished when it finished. It was then received many critics when the report was not debated or nothing of the report was implemented. For me it will be no way to overcome it it no political will to implement the recomendations.- Was there an international presence
involved in the process? Were there challenges in having an
international presence? Should there be an international presence? What
are the issues surrounding international organizations leading this
process versus a strictly indigenous process? How might these issues be
addressed for future TRC processes?
During TRC process in Timor Leste i found many international staff presence and involved in the process. It Timor Leste was under UNTAET (United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor) adminisration. It's also reflected the role of UN and International community during 24 years of conflict. UN have been involved in the process of rezolving Timor Leste's case since 1960's. Even though the international presence was to support in the formation and the implementaion of TRC process. Even the money that were used in implementing the mandat was come from international community. Timor Leste has not given any financial support to implement the project. This is also reflect the independency of TRC in Timor Leste. I think it was right since Timor Leste's case was an international case. So' we need international presence to involved in TRC process. Its also important for implementation of the recomendations in the future.Thanks, Jose Caetano Guterres