Professor Cath Collins will launch a new book on the subject of "Transitional Justice in Latin America" alongside co-authors and co-editors Elin Skarr and Jemima Garcia Godos on Thursday 24th August at the Centre on Law and Social Transformation at University of Bergen, Norway, as part of its 'Exchanges on Law and Social Transformation' programme of events.
The new book addresses current developments in transitional justice in Latin America – effectively the first region to undergo concentrated transitional justice experiences in modern times.
Using a comparative approach, the book examines trajectories in truth, justice, reparations, and amnesties in nine countries emerging from periods of massive violations of human rights and humanitarian law. Applying a common analytical framework, the book provides a qualitative and comparative analysis of the transitional justice experiences of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, El Salvador, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay.
More specifically, the book investigates to what extent there has been a shift from impunity towards accountability for past human rights violations in Latin America. The book assesses how the quality, timing and sequencing of transitional justice mechanisms, along with the context in which they appear, have mattered for the nature and impact of transitional justice processes in the region. There will be a roundtable discussion following the launch.