The complexity and effectiveness of transitional justice in Latin America and Eastern Europe

The violations of human rights by the authoritarian regimes in Latin America and Eastern Europe created growing popular anger that exploded in mass uprisings and demands for change, bringing the regimes to an end. It was a bottom-up process: a gradually rising discontent of ordinary people who, in the aftermath of the changes, made continuous calls for justice and for the perpetrators to be brought to account, and simultaneous calls for compensation for the victims. The demands for justice and compensation faced initial reluctance, partly because political forces connected to previous regimes remained powerful and influential. The processes of transitional justice have been controversial and complex, sometimes involving demands for extra-judicial punishment or similarly unacceptable calls for blanket forgiveness.

Related Subject(s): Human Rights and Refugees