The Role of the State and Human Rights Organizations

Abstract

Chapter 2 uses theories about post-transitional justice and the importance of domestic activism to evaluate the role of the state and human rights organizations in Mega Cause I. The involvement of the state and its support of the trial showed an initiative to acknowledge the responsibility of the state for crimes committed during the dictatorship and to punish those who were guilty. In this effort, departments of the state worked closely with top human rights organizations throughout the trial to help legally represent victims in court, assist the victims of state terrorism and the witnesses at the trial, and publicize the trial. In analyzing the state and human rights organizations, this chapter looks at the Human Rights Secretariat, the Ulloa Center, the IEM, and CELS.