Transitional Justice in the Aftermath of Civil Conflict
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Transitional Justice in the Aftermath of Civil Conflict Lessons from Peru, Guatemala and El Salvador Author Jo-Marie Burt Transitional Justice in the Aftermath of Civil Conflict: Lessons from Peru, Guatemala and El Salvador Author Jo-Marie Burt 1779 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Suite 710 Washington, D.C. 20036 T: (202) 462 7701 | F: (202) 462 7703 www.dplf.org 2018 Due Process of Law Foundation All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America Published by Due Process of Law Foundation Washington D.C., 20036 www.dplf.org ISBN: 978-0-9912414-6-0 Cover design: ULTRAdesigns Cover photos: José Ángel Mejía, Salvadoran journalist; Jo-Marie Burt; DPLF Graphic design: ULTRAdesigns Author Acknowledgements iii Author Acknowledgements This report would not have been possible without the generosity of so many friends, colleagues and collaborators whose insights were critical to the preparation of this report. The experience of writing this report helped reinforce my belief that the theory of transitional justice much emanate from, and constantly be nourished from the experiences of those who engage in its day-to-day work: the survivors, the families of victims, the human rights defenders, lawyers, judicial operators, whose labor creates the things we understand to be transitional justice. My first debt of gratitude is to Katya Salazar, Executive Director of the Due Process of Law Foundation (DPLF), and Leonor Arteaga, Impunity and Grave Human Rights Senior Program Officer at DPLF, for their invitation to collaborate in the preparation of a grant proposal to the Bureau of Democracy, Labor and Human Rights, which led to the two-year funded project on transitional justice in post-conflict Peru, Guatemala and El Salvador that is the basis for this report. Working with these formidable justice advocates on this project was an incredible learning experience, and I am grateful to them for what was a unique opportunity to connect my skills as a researcher with my passion as a human rights advocate. I’m grateful too to the wonderful DPLF staff, especially Laura Park and Hannah Odio. This project was sustainable only because our partner organizations on the ground believed in the project’s core objectives and in us as collaborators. They worked side-by- side with us to organize the study trips, which were central to our ability to synthesize here the complexities of the transitional justice process in each country, as well as a variety of workshops with victims’ organizations in each country. In particular, I am grateful and forever indebted to Francisco Soto and Alejandra Castillo, Executive Director and Deputy Executive Director of the Center for Human Rights Legal Action (CALDH) in Guatemala; Carlos Rivera, Executive Director of the Institute for Legal Defense (IDL) in Peru; and Abraham Abrego, former Executive Director of the Foundation for Applied Legal Studies (FESPAD) in El Salvador. Finally, I am grateful to all the individuals who participated in our study trips, our workshops, and who shared their thoughts and insights with us about their experiences with transitional justice, especially Gloria Cano, Glatzer Tuesta, Gisela Ortiz, Dorila Márquez, Alejandro Díaz, Claudia Interiano, David Morales, Sol Yañez, Susana Navarro, Orlando López, Paulo Estrada, César Canil, Yuber Alarcón, Naomi Roht-Arriaza, María Rodríguez, and Jimmy Ortiz. iv Transitional Justice in the Aftermath of Civil Conflict: Lessons from Peru, Guatemala and El Salvador This report is dedicated to Gisela Ortiz, Aura Elena Farfán, and Dorila Márquez, all survivors of the tragic violence that took their brothers, obliterated their communities, and sought to silence their demands for truth and justice. Despite their despair over the losses they endured, they found the courage to speak truth to power; their love for those they lost was a bright light in those dark times that continues to illuminate the path toward truth and justice. Table of contents Preface .......................................................................................................................................................... vii I. INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................1 1. Latin America: The Workshop of Transitional Justice ...........................................1 2. Transitional Justice in Peru, Guatemala and El Salvador ......................................3 II. TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE CASE STUDIES ...............................................................5 1. PERU ...............................................................................................................................................5 The Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission ............................................6 Reparations ...................................................................................................................................8 Highlight: The National Plan to Search for Disappeared Persons ........ 10 Criminal Prosecutions ......................................................................................................... 12 Highlight: The Fujimori Judgment ....................................................................... 13 Memorials, Commemoration and Collective Memory ....................................... 21 Highlight: La Hoyada “Sanctuary of Memory” in Ayacucho .................. 23 2. GUATEMALA ......................................................................................................................... 25 Two Truth Commission ...................................................................................................... 26 Highlight: The Struggle to Access Military Archives ................................... 28 Reparations ................................................................................................................................ 29 Highlight: Civil Society Leads the Search for the Disappeared .............. 31 Criminal Prosecutions ......................................................................................................... 33 Highlight: The Genocide Trial ................................................................................ 36 Memorials, Commemoration and Collective Memory ....................................... 40 Highlight: The Kaji Tulan Memory Museum .................................................. 41 3. EL SALVADOR ....................................................................................................................... 44 The UN Truth Commission .............................................................................................. 45 Reparations ................................................................................................................................ 48 Criminal Prosecutions ......................................................................................................... 49 Highlight: Seeking Justice in International Courts ....................................... 49 Highlight: The Legal Challenge to the 1993 Amnesty Law ...................... 52 Memorials, Commemoration and Collective Memory ....................................... 59 Highlight: Memories in Conflict: El Mozote and Monterrosa ................ 59 Highlight: New Impetus to Search for the Disappeared ............................ 62 III. LESSONS LEARNED FOR TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE PRACTICE .......... 65 1. The central role of victims in transitional justice processes ............................. 65 2. Victim participation in transitional justice policies and processes ............... 74 3. Human rights organizations play a critical support role on behalf of victims in transitional justice processes .................................. 84 4. Independence of the Attorney General’s Office and Judicial Institutions and Specialization in Human Rights Norms and Jurisprudence .................... 92 5. Addressing Wartime Sexual Violence.......................................................................... 94 6. Impunity is the mother of illegality, corruption and political instability; transitional justice promotes more just, peaceful and democratic nations. .................................................................................. 97 I V. CONCLUSION: TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE AND THE LEGACY OF CIVIL CONFLICTS IN PERU, EL SALVADOR AND GUATEMALA .......101 V. RECOMMENDATIONS .........................................................................................................107 ENDNOTES ............................................................................................................................................111 Preface vii Preface This report is based on the findings culled from a two-year project, “Lessons Learned and Best Practices in Latin America’s Experience with Transitional Justice: Information Exchanges and Capacity Building to Strengthen Civil Society Efforts to Address the Legacy of Civil Conflicts in Peru, El Salvador and Guatemala,” implemented by the Due Process of Law Foundation (DPLF) and funded by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor at the United States Department of Justice. The project was designed and implemented by Leonor Arteaga, Senior Program Officer for Impunity and Grave Human Rights Violations at DPLF, and Jo-Marie Burt, associate professor of political science at George Mason University and expert on transitional justice in Latin America, and DPLF consultant. Transitional justice consists of judicial and non-judicial