Documentation from Truth and Reconciliation Commissions
8 August, 2024Launch date: 17 September 2024
Launch time: 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm UAE time
Venue: Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi Library
The book discusses the challenges that surround the TRCs’ documentation such as; the politicization of the documentation, lack of the politic will to democratize information, lack of dissemination and preservation infrastructures that hinder access and its effective use. The documentation of war atrocities is crucial to the validation of human rights violations, addressing the culture of impunity, promoting an understanding of the causes of conflict, delivery of justice, healing and reconciliation and maintaining a historical record and a memory over the committed atrocities. TRCs are temporary bodies established to investigate atrocities committed against the civilian populations during conflicts. They are intended to enable victims and perpetrators of war atrocities to speak out and gain closure on bitter memories, provide a forum to discuss what went wrong, and promote reconciliation within post-conflict societies as a way of preventing future conflict. They constitute processes and mechanisms that should help post-conflict societies to address the legacy of past abuses to ensure accountability, serve justice and reconciliation and good governance. Even though TRCs are sanctioned by national governments and the International Community, research shows that the TRCs documentation is often not effectively used to benefit the societies that generate it.