NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS AND INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
GIJTR as a Bridge Between Informal and Formal Mechanisms
While engaging with formal state mechanisms is not a direct objective of most GIJTR projects, nearly all succeed in supporting local civil society organizations to impact them. In some cases, they do so indirectly: for example, training journalists and activists in transitional justice and advocacy in order to influence policy in places such as Guinea and Sri Lanka. In several long- term, country-specific projects, GIJTR works more directly as a conduit between civil society actors and state authorities and mechanisms in order to amplify and more effectively meet the needs of victims and affected communities. Securing the Right to Memory: Connecting Mexican CSOs with the Country’s Truth Commission
from 1965 to 1990, it also includes the provision for the development of a Law of Memory that will apply not only to this period but to all violations of human rights in Mexico, regardless of their timing. Circular de Morelia, a State-run institution and Site of Conscience in Mexico City, housed in a former clandestine site of torture and detention, was tasked by the Government of Mexico with supporting the Commission and for the development of the Law of Memory. At Circular de Morelia’s request, GIJTR Consortium founder ICSC has held capacity-building sessions with both Mexican CSOs and government officials to deepen their understanding of how memory laws, sites of memory and human rights archives can make visible historic truths that support accountability and non-recurrence. In addition to providing technical support for the drafting of the Law of Memory, GIJTR and local partners from Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Paraguay additionally trained more than 20 Mexican CSOs on archival techniques and the role of memorialization in the pursuit of truth, justice and accountability. GIJTR also supported a dozen pilot projects led by local partners. With GIJTR support, these projects were presented to the four Commissioners of the Truth Clarification Mechanism in November 2023, and the resulting digital archives and documentation produced by the projects will be shared with the Commission for its final report.
In Mexico, civil society organizations, including families of the disappeared, memory practitioners and other human rights activists, have spent years amplifying the vital role of public memory in urging the government to acknowledge its part in state-sponsored repression, torture and enforced disappearances. In 2021, in response to these calls, the Government of Mexico issued an Executive Order creating the Commission for Access to Truth, Historical Clarification, and Promotion of Justice Regarding Gross Human Rights Violations Committed from 1965 to 1990. While the mandate of the Commission is restricted to the clarification of facts related to political violence “We particularly value the contribution of [GIJTR Consortium partner] ICSC and their Latin American partners in the process of discussing the Law of Memory for Mexico and in bringing experiences from the region for the participatory process of the Truth Commission.” —Alejandro Encinas, Undersecretary for Human Rights at the Secretaría de Gobernación of Mexico, 2023
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Transforming Transitional Justice: A Decade of Change, Growth & Sustained Impact—A Summary Report
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