Reparative Measures Research Articles

Las políticas de memoria democrática en España: entre la impunidad y las obligaciones internacionales

Desde el inicio de la Transición a la democracia en España, se han venido produciendo una serie de medidas de reparación dirigidas a las víctimas de la guerra civil. Con una democracia más consolidada y favorecidas por los gobiernos de izquierda, se han ido ampliando estas leyes, condenando al franquismo y reivindicando a la II República. Sin embargo, la democracia española está aún lejos de alcanzar los estándares internacionales y los reclamos sociales en materia de memoria democrática. Como objetivo vamos a analizar estas leyes estatales desde 1976 hasta nuestros días, viendo su evolución y siguiendo una metodología cualitativa de análisis de contenidos.

Balancing Specificity of Reparation Measures and States’ Discretion to Enhance Implementation

AbstractA recurrent statement when implementation of international orders or recommendations in individual cases is considered is the belief that greater specificity of the measures helps compliance. Our research project examined a number of decisions adopted by some of the UN treaty bodies, and the regional human rights commissions and courts, in Africa, the Americas and Europe, and attempted to trace the extent to which the reparations ordered by the supranational bodies were implemented by the state authorities. This article focuses primarily on the reparations ordered by the Inter-American, African and UN systems and attempts to define specificity, emphasizing that it refers to a constant process of refining and clarifying the meaning of different forms of reparation. Specificity is then ‘unpacked’ in terms of the content of the reparation, deadlines imposed, who is responsible and who is a victim, and how the decision is reasoned. In so doing, the article maintains that specificity must also be considered vis-à-vis the degree of discretion that is given (or not) to states to act on orders or recommendations given by supranational bodies in individual cases. We conclude that a more nuanced approach to specificity versus ambiguity is needed, tailored to each reparation, each state and each case.

Transitional justice and constitutionalism: The case of Ghana

The delicate process of constitution-making during transition covers a range of issues, but usually features questions on how to address past human rights violations, change repressive laws, recognise basic rights and reform state institutions. Hence, the constitution-making process can have significant implications on the transitional justice mechanisms that are adopted and how they are implemented. In the case of Ghana, the 1992 Constitution came into force after decades of political instability. On 28 April 1992, a draft constitution for Ghana’s fourth republic was approved in a referendum. As part of the transitional provisions in the 1992 Constitution, amnesty provisions were enshrined to protect members of all previous military regimes from prosecution. However, the 1992 Constitution did not contain express provisions for initiation of other transitional justice mechanisms. In a bid to reflect on the rarely examined relationship between transitional justice mechanisms and constitutionalism, this paper shall examine Ghana’s amnesty laws, truth commission and reparative measures in relation to the constitution-making process and constitutional norms. The paper opines that as separate processes towards a common end, proper synchronisation of Ghana’s transitional justice processes and constitution-making could have shaped the country’s transitional justice mechanisms in the right direction towards achieving their perceived goals.

Curatorship for meaning making: contributions towards symbolic reparation at the Museum of Memory of Colombia

ABSTRACTThis article examines via case study research the ways in which diverse actors made sense and gave meaning to an exhibition related to armed conflict and reparation in Colombia. Voces para transformar a Colombia (Voices for the Transformation of Colombia, 2018) was a temporary, ‘living museum’ which presented the Museum of Memorýs storyline (a national museum still in planning) to the public. This museum was recently ordered by the Law for Victims and Land Restitution (2011) to contribute to the symbolic reparation of the victims of the country's armed conflict. We contend that contributions towards measures of satisfaction and non-repetition, two criteria prescribed by this law, may be located both in the creation of curatorial discourses, and also in the way in which different groups become meaning makers themselves by appropriating these discourses for their own purposes. By analysing the participation of victims during the process of making the exhibition and visitor (including victims’) reactions to it, we will highlight how curatorship contributes to measures of reparation, and also consider its limits in this regard.

Degloving Penile Injury with Urethral Avulsion: A Case Report

Accidental male genital injuries represent a serious urological disorder that demands immediate urological treatment due to risk of infection and need for fertility preservation. We reported a 30- year-old gentleman who presented with an extensive penile degloving injury, right open pneumothorax and right thigh laceration following a buffalo attack. Examination under anesthesia (EUA) demonstrated ruptured penis with tearing up to penile base and partially avulsed right testis. Right orchidectomy, wound debridement and suprapubic catheter insertion performed before being referred to Penang General Hospital. Repeated EUA revealed avulsed penile urethra 3cm from the meatus with interposing granulation tissue of 2cm in length. He underwent serial wound debridement and eventually required a split skin graft to the penis. Patient was reported to be able to achieve penile erection by 2 months post-operative and planned for urethroplasty later. This is the first paper that reports an incident of buffalo attack resulting in degloving injury of penis. Management depends on severity of trauma and prompt intervention essential to prevent immediate as well as delayed complication. Urethral injury must be considered in any extensive penile injury. Despite multiple modality for traumatic penile skin loss repair, split thickness skin grafting (SSG) was chosen for this patient. Conclusion: External injuries of the genitals, particularly caused by animal attack, should be followed by immediate operative exploration and if necessary, to reparative measures. Care must be taken with goal of optimizing long term sexual, cosmetic and voiding outcomes.

Psychosocial and community assessment of relatives of victims of extra-judicial killings in Peru: Informing international courts.

During the Peruvian internal armed conflict, fifteen members of the Santa Barbara community were collectively executed by state agents, and their relatives were made victims of persecution, torture, and imprisonment. The case, known as the Santa Barbara massacre, was brought to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. The documentation of individual, family and community impacts for the Court became a challenge due to the need to address cultural, geographical, political and community aspects. This paper aims to discuss the complexities of forensic documentation of human rights violations using a psychosocial and communitarian background. The assessment included seven survivors from three different families. Both qualitative and quantitative instruments were used. A participative action research framework guided the design, documentation process, and discussion of outcomes with the survivors. Results/ discussion: The report included four levels of documentation exhibited in the Istanbul Protocol framework: clinical impacts from a western perspective, emic formulations and cultural idioms of distress, communitarian perspectives, and a proposal of reparation measures for the Court. Individual analysis revealed chronic mental health sequelae of forced displacement, imprisonment and torture. Local idioms of distress (in Quechuan, "pinsamientuwan," "llaki," "ñakary," "umananay" and "iquyay") deepened the understanding of the damage faced by the survivors. The analysis of the community uncovered three main areas of collective damage: broken social and cultural identity, lack of political participation, and loss of perspective on the future. Regarding reparations, survivors highlighted the pursuit for justice, the dignified remembrance of their loved ones, social re-inclusion of displaced persons into the community, education for offspring, and measures for the preservation of their community's identity and culture. Psycholegal accompaniment for victims through a participatory research approach is essential for the proper documentation of the consequences of violence in complex contexts. It is also essential in guaranteeing that the forensic documentation of the impact of political violence can be proposed as reparative for the survivors in itself.

La justicia transicional como proceso de transformación hacia la paz

This article constitutes a contribution to the processes of peace consolidation developed during post-conflict scenarios. In this vein it proposes a path that allows to truly materialize the transformative effect of integral reparations, in particular in traditionally unequal societies, where victims of serious violations of human rights usually are members of the most marginalized and vulnerable groups. It starts from the idea that transitional justice is a process of political, social and cultural transformation, so that the reparation of that sort of violations must be designed and developed in such a way that it contributes to the transformation, avoiding being itself a generatorof new social gaps. Therefore, the classic approach of reparation measures, based on pure corrective justice, must give way to the need to change the structural causes of the conflict and open the way for a transformative reparation founded on a concept of social and distributive justice.

Reparación a víctimas de violación de derechos humanos y crímenes de lesa humanidad en Ecuador

En mayo de 2007, el ex presidente Rafael Correa creó una Comisión de la Verdad para Ecuador (CVE) a la que encargó esclarecer los hechos de violencia política ocurridos en el país entre los años 1984-2007. En junio de 2010, con la entrega del informe final de la Comisión, el Estado ecuatoriano dio inicio a una serie de acciones con el fin de reconocer su responsabilidad en los hechos y emprender medidas de reparación, judicialización y reformas administrativas. Este artículo busca un acercamiento a la forma en que el “hacer memoria” de los hechos investigados por la CVE se convierte en sustento para la definición y promulgación de políticas de reparación a víctimas y/o sus familiares, así como a la forma en que esas políticas encuentran recepción tanto en las autoridades llamadas a impulsarlas como en sus beneficiarios.

A context-based model for framing political victimhood: Experiences from Northern Ireland and the Basque Country

All societies moving towards peace must establish reparation measures for victims of political violence. This is not an easy task, however; political victimhood is a controversial concept by itself and all victims of this type are mixed up with general politics from both the past and the present. In divided societies, such as Northern Ireland and the Basque Country, controversies about the definition of political victimhood reproduce old divisions from the past. Drawing on these two case studies, this research project gathers together some initial thoughts on the conceptualisation of political victimhood with regard to three different models: the harm-, blame- and context-based models. The primary contribution of the article lies in the formulation of the third model, the context-based framework.

El principio de igualdad de género y su garantía en el derecho al trabajo.

El presente trabajo aborda el tema: “El principio de igualdad de género y su garantía en el derecho al trabajo.” El trabajo trata acerca del principio de igualdad, que consiste en la igualdad de derechos y oportunidades para todos los seres humanos, taxativamente se abarcará la igualdad al trabajo, que permite a cualquier persona -sin menoscabo de su género, etnia, situación socioeconómica, etcétera- acceder a un empleo y ser tratada como igual. Sin embargo, de los constantes esfuerzos de la legislación por garantizar la igualdad en el trabajo y así evitar la discriminación, en la práctica se presentan casos de estudio que se pensarían imposibles, como el que se analiza, que trata de una bombera que es despedida del cuerpo de bomberos por ser mujer, ya que, a criterio de la entidad gubernamental empleadora, con el despido se le protege de realizar una actividad destinada solamente para hombres. Se estudiará de igual manera, las medidas de reparación integral que la Corte Constitucional de Ecuador, dictó frente a esta vulneración de derechos. La metodología a ser utilizada en la investigación es deductiva, exploratoria y descriptiva. Se utilizará un enfoque cualitativo, por ser el propio de las ciencias sociales y más puntualmente del Derecho.

לא להתעמת עם העבר: לשאלת השילומים והפיצויים באיטליה (1944‑2017)

This essay provides a partial reconstruction of some measures of restitution and reparation adopted by the first post‑Fascist Italian administrations on behalf of Jews. These measures reached their peak in 1945‑1947 and had a final addendum in 1955, with the passage of a law, still in force, that awarded former victims of persecution some compensation for their suffering but, overall, the reparation measures were vastly insufficient. In the Nineties, the period of antisemitic persecution came back into the Italian political spotlight, as part of a new wave of international attention focused on the consequences of the Shoah from a financial standpoint as well, due to the phenomenon of the Holocaust litigations. Nevertheless the Italian response was once again characterized by resistance, reticence and silence.

Avances y dificultades del proceso de reparación integral a las víctimas del conflicto armado: una mirada al caso de Antioquia

The purpose of this article is to identify the advancements and difficulties to implement the law of victims and land restitution (law 1448 of 2001), from 2011 to 2017 in the department of Antioquia, based on the results of the interviews carried out with SNARIV administrative operators in this territorial entity and the analysis of management reports and evaluation of the policy issued by the coordinating entities. This review shows that the process on integral reparation to the victims of the armed conflict in Antioquia has been limited by the economic, political and financial difficulties that have been historical and structural to the centralized State model in Colombia; problems in the geographic development, added to the persistence of the armed conflict; which shows the existence of a normative framework that recognizes and promotes rights, but at the same time creates new institutions that do not have enough financial and administrative capacity to implement reparation measures, and that can leave this in a level of mere expectation for the victims of the armed conflict.

Producing Victimhood: Landmines, Reparations, and Law in Colombia

AbstractThis research theorizes Colombia's 2011 Victims’ and Land Restitution Law (the Victims’ Law) as a biopolitical program that intends to foster the lives of conflict‐affected populations through providing an array of reparation measures. Based on fieldwork with internally displaced landmine victims in Colombia's Magdalena Medio region, I highlight how the Victims’ Law constitutes the identity of which populations count as “victims” worthy of reparations, how such parameters are contested, and how landmine survivors’ sense of themselves as “victims” is mediated via their experiences with the Victims’ Law and the reparation programs it provides. In particular, I highlight the possibilities and limitations of reparation measures that hinge on small‐scale business incubation programs for landmine victims to show how a legally recognized victimhood category presupposes “self‐responsible” neoliberal subjects who must confront contexts of conflict and state neglect.

‘To shape our own lives and our own world’: exploring women’s hearings as reparative mechanisms for victims of sexual violence post-conflict

ABSTRACTTransitional justice processes have been criticised for neglecting to recognise the specific dimensions of women’s experiences of sexual violence during conflict. This failure to acknowledge the gendered elements of a conflict or the denial of its enduring impact undermines the prospect of transitional justice mechanisms devising measures of reparation that address the conditions that first enabled and subsequently perpetuate sexual violence against women.Women’s hearings have been one institutional response to criticisms that transitional justice mechanisms have failed women victims of sexual violence in conflict, both at the point of investigation and accountability and in the development of reparations. This article examines the role of women’s hearings in post-conflict contexts and institutional settings, and the factors that have led to their creation. By reference to women’s hearings held in South Africa, Peru, Sierra Leone, Timor-Leste, Japan, Bosnia–Herzegovina and Guatemala, the article evaluates women’s hearings as responses to the treatment of sexual violence by transitional justice mechanisms, and as potential measures of reparation.

Collateral Ability of Insurance Contract and Compensation Agreement in the Liability of Nuclear Damages and Its Improvement Measures

체르노빌원전사고 이후원자력손해배상법체계는 국내외적으로상당한 변화가 있었다. 손해배상책임 한도액을높이고, 손해의범위가 확장되고, 국제협약의적용범위도 확장됨으로써 배상책임의 실효성을 제고하는데 역점을 두어 왔으며, 이러한 경향은 우리 원자력손해배상제도에도 반영되었다. 그러나 우리나라 원자력손해배상제도 에서는 환경손해의 취급이 법적으로 명확하지 않고, 3억 계산단위(SDR)의 배상책임 한도액도 대규모 사고 시 피해를 배상하는데 한계가 있으며, 국제보충배상협약 가입에 대한 우리의 입장도 분명하지 않다. 본 연구에서는 우선 논의의 출발점으로 우리나라의 원자력손해배상 제도와 국제 원자력손해배상 체제의 개략을 고찰하고, 협약이나 각국의 입법례에 있어 환경손해의 위험을 분석하고 그에 관한 제도 개선안을 도출한다. 다음으로 현재의 배상조치 수준의 적정성 여부도 검토한다. 그리고 보충배상협약의 가입은 원자력의 해외진출에 기반 조성이 된다는 점, 일부나마 책임한도액 부족 우려에 대한 대책이 될 수 있다는 점 및 원자력국가인 대한민국의위상에맞는수용성증진의효과가있다는점을생각할수있는반면, 사업자나나국가의 재정적 부담이 따르고, 인접국의 가입여부에 따라 실효성이 좌우된다는 점을 고려하지 않을 수 없다. 이런 상황에서도 인접국의 동향을 주시하고, 국익의 측면을 고려하여 가입 여부를 결정하여야 할 것이다.With the launch of new climate change system, the shift in the energy paradigm is being attempted in terms of energy cost reduction and response to global warming, nuclear power is recognized as the basic power source. The number of nuclear power plants are increasing. Switzerland who decided to opt away from nuclear power started overturning its decision. The safety is an absolute factor in nuclear power, and it is necessary to prepare technologies and systems to mitigate or eliminate damages in the event of an accident, Victims must be protected sufficiently at the time of an accident. At the same time, systems that shall contribute to or at least will not hinder the progress of nuclear industry need to be built up. However, since there are no sufficient studies on the nuclear liability act of major countries on nuclear power, its in-depth analysis is required. Also, current trends in nuclear power-related treaties should be identified. Implications for the nuclear liability in Korea need to be derived by surveying and analyzing the nuclear liability acts of advanced countries on nuclear power, and international nuclear power treaties. In order to determine the trends in systems of major countries (the US, France and Japan), the nuclear liability acts of these countries were analyzed. Through such analysis, a trend that the liability of the nuclear operators is increasing was identified. It can be stated that the key of the nuclear liability system is how to effectively place the insurance, compensation, domestic and international fund raising, and governmental support. Problems in this regard are as follows. Reparation measures need to be diversified plans to use the mutual insurance and deduction should be considered reparation measures. An union including the construction companies and parts suppliers of nuclear power plants need to be considered. Liability limit for nuclear operators is expected to be gradually increased. Finally, the government s role needs to be specified in legislation. Currently, the legal stability is damaged since the details of government support are not specified. This study has been conducted for the nuclear liability act to be standardized in order to achieve two objectives of protection of victims in the event of accidents and the development of the nuclear industry in the field of nuclear power where safety is the top priority. Building of a developmental model of nuclear liability act was suggested through the introduction of a useful system in Japan where the nuclear accident is actually being handled.

La responsabilidad del Estado por intervenciones de reasignación de sexo y adecuación genital temprana

Los argumentos esbozados por los defensores y activistas de la comunidad LGTBI, y la reivindicación de los derechos de las personas con diferencias de desarrollo sexual, conducen a reflexionar sobre la aparición de un nuevo paradigma en la concepción binaria tradicional masculino-femenino. En el derecho colombiano, este debate se extiende al campo de la responsabilidad extracontractual del Estado a favor de aquellas personas que, durante su niñez, fueron intervenidas quirúrgicamente sin su consentimiento informado para la reasignación de sexo o modificación de sus genitales. Una vez identificados los fundamentos de la responsabilidad estatal, la presente investigación pone en evidencia la necesidad de adoptar medidas adicionales de reparación, más allá de lo económico, que involucren acciones concertadas del ejecutivo y del legislador con miras a garantizar la no discriminación, la no repetición y la dignificación de estas personas.

Capacidades del estado y de la población víctima de violencia sociopolítica para la construcción de paz: una mirada en regiones de Sucre

El artículo es producto de la investigación “Diagnóstico de las capacidades técnicas, administrativas y humanas de las instituciones que atienden población víctima de violencia sociopolítica en las regiones golfo de Morrosquillo y Sabanas, departamento de Sucre, año 2014 -2015”. Las manifestaciones de este fenómeno sociopolítico se configuraron en amenazas, reclutamientos, desapariciones forzadas, masacres por incursión de grupos al margen de la ley, lo que generó daños psicológicos, sociales, económicos y desplazamiento de la población civil a lugares ajenos con pérdida sustancial de sus bienes materiales, sociales y espirituales. Estos hechos llevaron al gobierno a tomar la decisión política de conocer el conflicto armado, la violación de derechos humanos, la existencia del estado de cosas inconstitucionales y la necesidad de reparar a las víctimas sancionando varias leyes, entre ellas la 387 de 1997 y la 975 de 2005, las que al no surtir los efectos esperados dieron origen a la Ley 1448 de 2011, que en Colombia se constituye en el marco conceptual, metodológico y jurídico que guía la operatividad de la política pública y se dictan “medidas de asistencia, atención y reparación integral a las víctimas del conflicto armado interno y se establecen otras disposiciones”. La investigación se enmarcó en un enfoque mixto de tipo descriptivo - interpretativo, las técnicas utilizadas fueron la entrevista semiestructurada y la observación participante en contextos de atención a víctimas. Los resultados muestran fortalezas y debilidades en el cumplimiento de las funciones institucionales que determina la Ley 1448, no obstante, se enfatiza en las debilidades técnico-administrativas y humanas dada la relevancia política y social que esta información reviste, para redimensionar el actuar del Estado y la institucionalidad, en procura a garantizar el restablecimiento de derechos y la atención integral de las víctimas, para aportar a la construcción de paz desde lo regional y socio comunitario.

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights and Multinational Enterprises: Towards Business and Human Rights in the Americas?

Abstract This article analyses the role of the jurisprudence of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) within a business and human rights framework. A qualitative data analysis of cases on multinational enterprises (mnes) identifies the following: that the obligations the IACtHR places upon States explicitly contemplate soft law instruments, such as the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights; and that there exist shared obligations with companies and attempts to regulate mne conduct by establishing conditions for due diligence, such as prior consultation, benefit-sharing and reparation measures for affected communities. Therefore, IACtHR rulings may contribute to the rule of law in so far as they have normative effects on member States, but they can also prove to be ineffective given the nature of corporate conduct and certain non-enforceable responsibilities.

An Unfinished Justice: How International Community Traded Justice for the Stability in Kosovo

Although, there is a considerable literature which analyzes the UN Mission in Kosovo from different perspectives, limited attention has been given to the mission’s contribution in confronting with war crimes and crimes against humanity in Kosovo committed by the Milosevic regime against Kosovo Albanians during the 1998-1999. This article intends to provide a comprehensive analysis of international justice mechanisms – UNMIK and the ICTY – in dealing with the past injustices in Kosovo by identifying their flaws and shortcomings, as well as exploring factors that impacted their performance and effectiveness. By using the existing literature, international organizations’ reports, governmental documents, and media articles, the article argues that international community failed to deal with transitional justice issues in Kosovo – fighting impunity and delivering justice to victims as well as strengthening the rule of law and achieving reconciliation between the communities. In its endeavors to documenting the past crimes, international mechanisms relied mainly on retributive justice whilst ignoring restorative and reparation measures under justifications to preserving peace and stability in Kosovo. Regretfully, seventeen years after the war, justice in Kosovo remains an “unfinished business,” with a potential of negative implications to peace and reconciliation amongst the ethnic groups.

Spanish

Jurisdiction administrative dispute, due to the influence of the Inter-American Court of human rights, has in recent years adopted measures of reparation of the damage in itself considered as opposed to the consequence damage, especially when there has been a breach to the human rights of the plaintiffs; in several judgments of the Council of State ordering the adoption of restorative justice measures to repair in natura to the victims. However, the Court confuses sometimes damage event with the damage result and in our environment, only progress in the objective of the event damage repair when there has been an infringement of the right to health, being budding construction of objective criteria of compensation or repair when other conventional or constitutional rights are violated.