From Impunity to Accountability in Latin America: An Analytical Framework

In recent years there has been an observable shift in many Latin American countries from impunity for human rights violations committed during authoritarian rule or civil war, to more accountability for these crimes. Based on a critical reappraisal of early transitional justice theory and in light of emerging empirical evidence, this paper tries to explain how and in which ways transitional justice (TJ) has contributed to this shift. The paper maps existing thinking and practice on four main TJ mechanisms (trials, truth commissions, reparations, and amnesty laws) before considering how dimensions such as conflict type, regime change, interaction effects, sector reform, sequencing, and stakeholder participation can be incorporated to provide a more complete framework for comparison of TJ realities and legacies in Latin America.