Truth Commissions Archives from a Longer-term Perspective: The Case of Chile

The paper, through the case of Chile, explores the legacy of the archives of the two Chilean official Truth and Reconciliation Commissions (TRCs). The TRCs archives in Chile played a vital role in advancing other transitional justice mechanisms in several ways. The archives of the first Chilean TRC have been used to provide reparations and to advance later domestic prosecutions. Additionally, the archives and records of both Chilean Truth Commissions constituted critical evidence upon which memorialization was later built. Therefore, the Chilean case clearly demonstrates the importance of preserving the archives of the Truth Commissions as they can contribute, over the longer-term, to subsequent justice, reparation and memory initiatives. However, access to truth commissions’ archives in Chile has been a controversial issue that has given rise to intense debate. Since the TRCs archives are today still not open to the public, civil society organization and archivists strongly advocate for their opening. The Chilean case shows the difficulties to establish access policies which strike a balance between the right to know, the freedom of information and the right to privacy.