Photo: Participants of the 4th Intensive Course on Truth Commissions, Barcelona, Spain, 2012 (ICTJ)
The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) and the Barcelona International Peace Resource Center (BIPRC) are pleased to announce the 5th Intensive Course on Truth Commissions, which will focus on a practical approach to addressing the challenges of designing and implementing a truth commission. The deadline for applications has been extended to August 14, 2013
The one-week course (held Sept 30 - Oct 4, 2013) will prepare practitioners directly involved in human rights, peacebuilding, rule of law, and transitional justice with the necessary tools to assess the propriety of creating a truth commission, while ensuring that the design and implementation is sensitive to national and local realities. Practitioners directly involved in countries considering the establishment of truth commissions or similar efforts are especially encouraged to apply.
“Looking at the past is one of the most fundamental elements of moving forward, particularly for societies recovering from widespread atrocity or abuse,” said Eduardo González, director of ICTJ’s Truth and Memory program. “But how you uncover the past—which is often quite painful—can alter the whole course of a transition.”
In countries as diverse as Tunisia, Colombia, and Nepal undergoing political change, victims and their families are increasingly unwilling to allow the crimes of the past to stay hidden.
In these countries and elsewhere, discussions are taking place about how truth commissions—official, nonjudicial inquiries into human rights violations—can be a vehicle for realizing victims’ internationally recognized right to know the truth about gross violations of human rights.
With this growing interest in truth commissions comes a higher demand for experts equipped with the comparative insight to help build these mechanisms and advise on the role of truth seeking within a broader transitional context.
The one-week immersion course will center on key considerations for today’s truth commissions, such as how commissions can ensure social buy-in; how can they make a positive contribution to the rights of women, children and youth, and indigenous peoples; and discuss practical and conceptual considerations facing international and national actors.
“As international peacemakers, funders, human rights advocates, and government officials continue to engage with truth commissions created around the world, it is essential that they come equipped with a broad, comparative understanding of the impact of truth commissions,” said González. “But no two truth commissions are alike; each one must be designed to complement regional and national needs and priorities.”
Last year’s training in Barcelona brought together practitioners and academics representing 17 countries, including members of the Brazilian and Ivorian Truth Commissions, the Maine Wabanaki-State Child Welfare Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and ICTJ experts from around the world.
In March of this year, a special course held in Villa de Leyva, Colombia, was tailored to the Colombian context.
The Barcelona course will be held at the Gran Hotel Rey Don Jaime in Castelldefels, Barcelona, Spain. The program is targeted at mid-career and senior staff at multilateral agencies, governments, NGOs, foundations, and universities. More details on the course and how to apply are available here. The deadline to apply August 14, 2013
Learn more about ICTJ's Truth and Memory program.
