Beyond Words: The Implementation Record of Latin American Truth Commissions’ Recommendations

Abstract

The transformative potential of truth commissions (TCs) arguably lies most directly in the body of recommendations put forward in the report. TC recommendations usually include reforms in the legal, political and social fields, and reparations of various kinds. The list is often extensive. The tendency over time has been towards longer list of recommendations. This in itself raises questions about expectations and the possibility of implementation. In general, implementing TC recommendations clearly faces many obstacles. Hayner (2011) concludes that, although “[n]o one has yet analysed how many of the thousands of recommendations by truth commissions have been implemented”, the implementation record is generally poor. To cite one example, upon the tenth anniversary of the Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a report from the International Center for Transitional Justice found that the implementation record has been abysmal (Correa, 2013). Nonetheless, as Hayner notes, implementation has not been systematically examined, either within a case or across cases. Moreover, the relationship between the nature of recommendations, aspects of the political and socio-economic environment into which they are introduced, and implementation has largely been neglected in the scholarly literature. This panel presents the main preliminary findings from a three years research project funded by the Norwegian Research Council on the implementation record of Latin American truth commissions’ recommendations. The various papers presented in the panel are based upon data collected on the implementation of recommendations from 13 TCs established since the early 1980s in 11 Latin American countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay. The project seeks to identify (1) contexts, actors and processes that shape TC recommendations; and (2) conditions that are more/less conducive to implementation of particular kinds of recommendation. To this end, we have developed a typology of recommendations and code for various characteristics of recommendations. Through this, we have identified patterns in recommendation design across cases. In addition, we have identified how the formulation of truth commission recommendations has changed over time. Papers in this panel include a mix of theoretical-methodological reflections as well as papers presenting empirical findings from case studies and comparative studies. The papers are presented by project participants, reflecting a mix of senior and junior scholars.