Reclaiming the Past: The Role of Memory in Justice and Reconciliation
As a human rights lawyer, my involvement in transitional justice processes has tended to focus on four of the five pillars of transitional justice, namely Truth-Seeking, Justice, Reparation, and Guarantees of Non-recurrence. At Synergy for Justice, we work to advance justice and end impunity for perpetrators of crimes and violators of human rights. We also work to increase the number of women meaningfully engaged in all facets of transitional justice, including documentation of violations, political stabilisation, peace-building, community mobilisation, and security sector reform. Until recently, I had not been directly involved in memorialisation efforts.
Former UN Special Rapporteur on Transitional Justice Fabian Savioli recognised that “States have a responsibility to preserve and transmit memory concerning violations of human rights … and the duty to preserve archives and other evidence concerning such violations, with a view to preserving the collective memory from extinction and guard against the development of revisionist and negationist arguments.”
The International Coalition of Sites of Conscience - the only worldwide network dedicated to transforming places that preserve the past into spaces that promote civic action - notes that “the power of sites of memory is not inherent; it must be harnessed as a deliberate tactic in the service of human rights and citizen engagement.” These sites are not meant to be static memorials, but rather places of solidarity, support, and engagement. Community members create spaces and preserve places where human rights struggles and atrocities have occurred so that people can gather and talk openly about what happened there. They remember the loved ones they lost, they grieve together, and ultimately, they support each other as they discuss the past as well as the future and what they want to see in a more peaceful, equitable, and secure society.
I was incredibly fortunate to visit one such memorial site earlier this year in Guatemala. The site is in the village of San Juan Comalapa, about 80 kilometers west of Guatemala City. A military camp there was the site of horrible atrocities including sexual violence, torture, and murder during the internal armed conflict that killed an estimated 200,000 people and displaced more than one million people between 1960 and 1996. And yet, that site has been reclaimed by CONAVIGUA (National Coordinator of Widows of Guatemala), a women’s organisation that fights for the individual and collective rights of Mayan women and indigenous peoples.
CONAVIGUA worked with the Forensic Anthropology Foundation of Guatemala (FAFG) to effect the exhumation of 220 victims' remains in Comalapa between 2003 and 2005. FAFG identified 48 of the bodies and returned them to their families. The remains of the 127 unidentified victims were returned to the community, and CONAVIGUA arranged burial services in the Mayan tradition.
The site also features photos of missing people and murals depicting the military’s brutality. It has become a gathering place where the community honours loved ones and finds solace together. Despite the tragedies, CONAVIGUA has created a peaceful space for families not only to grieve, but also to celebrate life. They have even included a playground for children.
I cannot describe how moving it was to hear the singing, see the photos, and listen to the survivors. Witnessing the power of memorialisation and its impact on communities, families, and survivors in this setting made me realise that there is more than one path to reconciliation, and when accountability is stubbornly elusive, there are still other ways to promote justice, healing, and reconciliation.
At Synergy we are supporting our partner Amal Healing and Advocacy Center (AHAC) as they contribute to one such memoralisation effort dedicated to survivors of sexual violence across conflict settings. AHAC is working with Syrian survivors of sexual violence to include their voices, experiences, and perspectives in a global artwork initiative called 'Petrified Survivors' led by UK-based artist, Rebecca Hawkins. The memorial sculpture will eventually be located in The Hague, the site of key international justice organisations and accountability processes, so that people can remember what happened and honour the victims and survivors.
