brandon hamber - foro social para impulsar el proceso de paz

Dealing with the Past

Professor Brandon HamberINCORE, University of Ulster

www.incore.ulster.ac.uk

What is dealing with the past? Process of addressing a legacy of violence, a context of

where violations have taken place according to different actors in a conflict

Individuals and communities always doing this, e.g. commemorations, anniversaries of deaths

When referring to “dealing with the past” however generally mean structured attempts to address a legacy of violence

“Drawing a line” or “forgetting” could be a structured approach

International experience is this is impossible to do, issues tend to come back

www.incore.ulster.ac.uk © Brandon Hamber Sep 2010

What is dealing with the past?

Healing Through Remembering talks about the process as “active and purposeful”; and it seeks to redress, resolve, transform, or address a legacy of violence and division

Such processes can take place at different levels of society Transitional justice is part of wider dealing with the past Transitional justice is not a special form of justice but justice

adapted to societies transforming themselves after a period of pervasive human rights abuse (International Centre for Transitional Justice).

e.g. prosecutions, lustrations, truth commissions, inquiries, reparations, security sector reform, and memorialization


Dealing with the Past

Dealing with the past is a wide ranging subject, largely focuses on what strategies and mechanisms that are set up to deal with legacy of political violence.

There are many examples, 14 identified by Healing Through Remembering:

www.incore.ulster.ac.uk © Brandon Hamber Jan 2010

Dealing with the Past Storytelling and oral history Memorials museums, exhibitions and art Public and collective commemorations Days of Remembrance Truth recovery processes such as a truth commission Trials (prosecutions) and inquiries. Community projects Victim support Research and social policy development Compensation and reparation Centre for remembrance Self-examination of institutions and apologies


Lesson #1

Dealing with the past is wider than a truth commission, multiple strategies at different levels (individual, community, political) and is long term

This type of thinking is helpful as it means you undertake dealing with the past work in the absence of political agreements and continues after formal processes too


Lesson #2

Different political realities determine the types of approaches taken. No one size fits all. It always involves compromise.

This type of thinking is helpful because we need to understand the political realities of each context, e.g. complete amnesty is unlikely and a “transitional” form of justice for victims a reality


Lesson #3

Need a wider aim and vision. Victims are central to these processes, as are those involved in violence (combatants, state), but the process is about society

This type of thinking is helpful because it means you need social and political buy in into processes with all players involved, it is top down and bottom up, and institutional


Lesson #4

We need to seek complexity and need to learn to live with different views of the past, while “narrowing permissible lies”

This type of thinking is helpful because it opens the possibility of complex and competing narratives about the past, and highlights importance of information


Lesson #5

We need to seek new ways of framing the conflict and create the spaces where we can do this

This type of thinking is helpful because we need to pay attention to language and symbols


Lesson #6

We need trust must be built at all levels and that honesty in engagement is vital to maintain trust (HTR)

This type of thinking is helpful because we need to consider trust building mechanisms, steps and maintain transparency


Questions?


brandon hamber - foro social para impulsar el proceso de paz

Documents

wider dealing

past transitional justice

past work

past storytelling

legacy of political

legacy of violence

political buy

different political