Gender, Truth Commissions, and Sexual Violence: Latin American and African Experiences

Since the millennium, a global normative and legal framework has developed to address gender-based crimes and conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV). Parallel to this development, we have seen a proliferation of countries employing transitional justice (TJ) mechanisms to address gross and systematic human rights abuses committed during armed conflict or authoritarian rule. Truth commissions (TCs) are one such tool. Overall, we know little about how CRSV has been negotiated into the mandate of truth commissions, how the focus on CRSV has been pursued, and what effect these strategies have had on reparative and preventive measures.

This panel presents findings from an ongoing international interdisciplinary research project investigating how Latin American and African and truth commission since the early 1980s have dealt with CRSV throughout their operations and in their recommendations. Some of the core questions addressed are: To what extent have changing international norms and legal frameworks shaped the agenda of truth commissions when it comes to conflict-related sexual violence? How have truth commissions contributed to advancing the Women, Peace and Security agenda (set by UN Security Council Resolution 1325) and its focus on the gendered experience of conflict? The panel presents findings from a first-ever database exploring the connections between truth commissions, conflict-related sexual violence, and international law, highlighting findings from Haiti, Guatemala, and Uruguay, and comparing Latin American trends with insights from Africa.

Panel organizer: Elin Skaar (CMI, Norway) 

Panel chair: Pilar Domingo (ODI, UK)

Presenters: Elin Skaar (CMI, Bergen): Cross-regional findings

Marianne Tøraasen (CMI/UiB, Bergen): Haiti case study

Ana Braconnier De León (independent researcher Guatemala): Guatemala case study

Selma Tenold (CMI/UiB, Bergen): Uruguay case study

Discussant: Rachel Sieder (CIESAS, Mexico)