This conference aims to bring together expert scholars, policymakers, and civil society stakeholders to examine access to and ownership of Truth Commissions’ (TCs’) documentation. As temporary bodies established to investigate atrocities committed against civilian populations, truth commissions have been deployed for national dialogue, reconciliation and peaceful co-existence in societies torn apart by egregious violence and collective trauma. The narratives shared in these TC spaces generate various documents such as written statements, personal interviews, live public testimonies of witnesses and video clips upon which the TCs final reports are based.
Conference presentations will:
(i) Explore issues related to access of the TCs documentation,
(ii) Investigate the obstacles that have prevented the implementation of information infrastructures that should promote access, and
(iii) Address issues of ownership of the TCs documentation.
KEYNOTE ADDRESSES:
October 24 @ 10:00 – 11:00 am EST – Verne Harris “Violation of a Truth Commission.”
October 25 @ 9:45 – 11:00 am EST – Celina Flores and Veronica Torras “Truth Commission Archives: Historical-Cultural Heritage or Guarantor of Rights in Transitional Contexts? Management and Challenges According to Comparative Experiences.”
ORGANIZED BY:
The Confronting Atrocity Project
Centre for Human Rights and Restorative Justice (CHRRJ)
McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, University of Manitoba, Canada
The Social Science Research Council’s African Peacebuilding Network Program, USA
The Nelson Mandela Foundation, South Africa
Sorbonne University, Abu Dhabi