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Victim Healing and Truth Commissions pp 9–28Cite as

Healing and Truth Commissions: Competition or Complement?

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Part of the book series: Springer Series in Transitional Justice ((SSTJ,volume 11))

Abstract

Building on the topics described in Chap. 1, the concept of healing and how the existing literature proposes it may be achieved are discussed in this chapter, alongside a description of truth commissions which are considered to be the transitional justice mechanism most adept at facilitating healing through their victim-focussed aims. In conjunction with this, I also describe the findings from a descriptive quantitative study I conducted to empirically uncover trends in truth commission creation over time and by region.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    ‘Voice’, as it is used in this quote refers to victims’ ability to speak and not necessarily the way it is described in procedural justice literature. When referring to this concept as a component of procedural justice as it is approached in this book, it will be italicised as: voice.

  2. 2.

    This graph does not include Zimbabwe as it is unclear whether or not this Commission of Inquiry held public or closed hearings. Either way, the trend toward public hearings remains unaffected.

  3. 3.

    Similar to Figure 2.3, this graph does not include Zimbabwe as the Commission’s charter is not publicly available. The trend illustrated here also remains unaffected by the omission.

  4. 4.

    Ghana, 2002; Timor-Leste, 2002; Sierra Leone, 2002; Morocco, 2004; Greensboro, USA, 2004; Timor-Leste and Indonesia, 2005; Liberia, 2006; Kenya, 2009; Solomon Islands, 2009; and Togo, 2009.

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  1. Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden

    Holly L. Guthrey

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Guthrey, H. (2015). Healing and Truth Commissions: Competition or Complement?. In: Victim Healing and Truth Commissions. Springer Series in Transitional Justice, vol 11. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-12487-2_2

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