Unspeakable truths : confronting state terror and atrocity / Priscilla B. Hayner.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hayner, Priscilla B.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Human rights.

Political atrocities.

Political persecution.

Amnesty.

Reconciliation.

Physical Description:

xii, 340 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Routledge, 2001.

Summary:

After the killings, then what? If South Africa is any lesson, a truth and reconciliation commission. Hayner explores many commissions from America to Uganda, paying special attention to Argentina, El Salvador, Chile, South Africa, and Guatemala. Combining moving stories of personal tragedy with explanations of events, Hayner details the triumphs and shortcomings of past commissions.

Contents:

2 Confronting Past Crimes 10

3 Why a Truth Commission? 24

4 Five Illustrative Truth Commissions 32

5 Sixteen Less-Prominent Commissions 50

6 What is the Truth? 72

7 Truth Versus Justice: Is it a Trade-Off? 86

8 Naming the Guilty 107

9 Healing from the Past 133

10 An Eye to the Future: Reconciliation and Reforms 154

11 Reparations for State Crimes 170

12 Leaving the Past Alone 183

13 Truth Commissions and the International Criminal Court: Conflict or Complement? 206

14 Inside the Commission: Problems and Practicalities 213

15 Challenges and Assistance from the Outside 234

Epilogue: Looking Forward 249

Afterword: An Expanding Universe of Official Truth-Seeking 255

Chart 1 Twenty-one Truth Commisions

Chart 2 "Historical" Truth Commissions

Chart 3 Alternative Forms of Official or Semi-Official Inquiry into the Past

Chart 4 What Rights Violations do Truth Commissions Cover?

Chart 5 Past Truth Commission Recommendations

Chart 6 Reparations from Truth Commissions: A Comparision of Chilean and Argentine Benefits for Victims

Chart 7 A Comparision of Resources and Responsibilities

Chart 8 What Works Best?.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 255-290) and index.

ISBN:

0415924774

0415924782

OCLC:

43919718