Truth After Violent Conflicts – Truth-Seeking in the Context of Transitional Justice and Reconciliation Processes

Overcoming violent conflicts and building sustainable peace pose complex social and political challenges. Where systematic injustice ­occurs, not only are human lives and social relationships destroyed, but also facts are suppressed, concealed or denied. Building sustain­able peace – whether after internal or international conflicts – requires measures that combine justice, trust and reconciliation. The role of truth, active truth-seeking and reckoning with the past becomes increasingly important in this context.

Nevertheless, it must be taken into account that truth is a multidimensional entity and not neutral. Besides factual/forensic truth, several other types of truth can be identified. Besides that, truth not only emerges as a complex construct of objective facts and associated interpretations, but also becomes the subject of collective negotiation processes, which often lead to conflict. Still, without a conscious confrontation with the past and the truth, reconciliation will remain superficial or even impossible. Truth is paramount as a symbolic acknowledgement of injustice and as a precondition for healing; this is reflected in the “right to the truth” which has been recognized as a human right of its own. On the other hand, there is a tension between truth and justice; the fact that justice wasn’t served although the truth was known can also become part of the historical truth.

Truth is therefore not a linear process and should not be reduced to the mere documentation of facts. However, appreciation and reason­able interpretation of facts are indispensable if truth-seeking is to re­main an essential part of reconciliation and sustainable peace-building.