Argentina

Provides a listing of articles on restorative justice developments in Argentina. Articles appear in the order in which they were added to the site with the most recent appearing first.

Payne, Leigh A. Confessions of Torturers: Reflections from Argentina

As Leigh Payne notes, truth-telling has become a widespread means of settling accounts with past repressive regimes. Within a variety of forms - from government-mandated truth commissions to NGO-sponsored historical memory projects to individual testimonials - victims of repression have broken the silence imposed on them by authoritarian regimes. However, many difficult practical and moral issues exist in such processes. In this vein, Payne explores a very complex and difficult issue for truth-telling as a way to deal with past injustice: namely, confessions by those who have tortured others. Payne discusses the logic behind including torturers' confessions in truth and reconciliation processes, critiques that logic, and then proposes conditions under which such confessions might advance truth and reconciliation despite inherent moral ambiguity in the process. To illustrate all of this, examples from four Argentine confessions are included.

Sriram, Chandra Lekha. Confronting past human rights violations: justice vs. peace in times of transition.

This book examines what makes accountability for previous abuses more or less possible for transitional regimes to achieve. It closely examines the other vital goals of such regimes against which accountability is often balanced. The options available are not simply prosecution or pardon, as the most heated polemics of the debate over transitional justice suggest, but a range of options, from complete amnesty through truth commissions and lustration or purification to prosecution. The question then is not whether accountability can be achieved, but what degree of accountability can be achieved by a given country. This book examines five countries’ experiences in detail – El Salvador, Honduras, Argentina, South Africa, and Sri Lanka – and offers a comparative survey of nearly 30 countries’ experiences. (publisher’s abstract)

Amstutz, Mark R.. The healing of nations: the promise and limits of political forgiveness

Mark Amstutz in this book considers the nature and potential of forgiveness in international and domestic politics. Like many, he had thought of forgiveness in personal terms. It pertained to issues of personal morality, to interpersonal relationships and religious life, but it was not applicable to political life, policies, officials, and structures. However, in response at least in part to Donald Shriver’s An Ethic for Enemies: Forgiveness in Politics (1995), Amstutz began to doubt that there was such a clear and wide divide between personal morality and political morality, with forgiveness relevant to the former and irrelevant to the latter. He came to think that forgiveness, while difficult to apply to political morality, could in fact be practiced in politics, especially in confronting past collective offenses. This led him to explore the potential contribution of concepts like culpability, confession, repentance, forgiveness, and reconciliation to processes of collective healing at various levels of group life, including the communal, national, and international. Thus this book came into being. It consists of a study in applied political ethics. Amstutz’s goals in it are to identify and illuminate relevant moral norms with respect to forgiveness and to demonstrate how they can be employed in political life. Looking at four case studies – Argentina, Chile, Northern Ireland, and South Africa – he argues that forgiveness, when rooted in restorative justice, can promote healing and renewal in social and political life, thereby fostering a more just, humane, and stable political order. Chapters include the following: the nature and purpose of forgiveness; the possibility and promise of political forgiveness; justice, reconciliation, and political forgiveness; studies of Argentina, Chile, Northern Ireland, and South Africa; and thoughts toward a theory of political forgiveness.

Berardo, Ema and Vecchi, Silvia and Greco, Silvana. Experiencias en mediación y violencia familiar en Buenos Aires, Argentina: La mediación como recurso de intervenciones democratizadoras en las relaciones de poder

"La mediación, en tanto espacio intencionalmente organizado para facilitar conversaciones y negociaciones facilitadas profesionalmente por un tercero, se convierte en un proceso que por su particular organización, cuestiona las relaciones de poder dentro de la familia. En el tratamiento de conflictos en familias atravesadas por violencia doméstica puede constituir un dispositivo que, reconociendo las limitaciones con las que se trabajará, permite crear condiciones que favorezcan la instalación de un proceso de democratización de las relaciones". Resumen del Centro de Estudios de Justicia de las America, www.cejamericas.org.

Riva, Ricardo. Programa de Mediación Penal Juvenil: Provincia de Neuquén, República Argentina

En la provincia de Neuquén, República Argentina, se ha creado a partir de la firma de un Convenio de colaboración celebrado entre el Tribunal Superior de Justicia y el Ministerio de Gobierno y Seguridad un programa que aplica la mediación en materia penal juvenil. Este mecanismo alternativo de resolución del conflicto penal permite obtener respuestas más satisfactorias para el infractor, para la víctima y para la sociedad en su conjunto. Resumen del Centro de Estudios de Justicia de las Americas, www.cejamericas.org.

Price, Marty D.. Restorative Justice Speaking Tour in Argentina and Chile.

For two weeks this past May, I visited Argentina and Chile to speak about restorative justice at the request of each country’s Ministry of Justice. As a pioneer in the restorative justice field, I felt confident that I could provide valuable expertise, experience and resources. But, I quickly realized there was more to present than one person could bring. (excerpt)

Guembe, Maria Jose. Economic Reparations for Grave Human Rights Violations: The Argentinean Experience

"Since its return to democracy, Argentina has made great efforts to address the legacy of the last military dictatorship. This chapter presents a complete overview of the Argentinean policy of economic reparations for the victims of human rights violations committed between 1975 and 1983, including the beneficiaries, the crimes for which victims received reparations, the amounts paid, and the forms of payment. The study also analyzes the motivations for redressing the victims, from both national and international perspectives. It identifies the positions adopted by the different actors involved in the measures, especially the State and human rights organizations. The latter gained undeniable legitimacy by representing the victims and had consolidated into a group that has become the main actor on economic, legal, and political questions that have arisen during the process of designing and implementing the reparations policy." (excerpt)

Walling, Carrie Booth and Sikkink, Kathryn. Argentina's Contribution to Global Trends in Transitional Justice

"In addition to discussing the case of Argentina, we will also sketch out some broad international and regional trends in the area of transitional justice. These trends make clear that dramatic changes have occured in the world with regard to accountability for past human rights abuses. This trend is what Lutz and Sikkink have called "The Justice Cascade" -a rapid shift towards new norms and practices of providing more accountability for human rights violations. The case of Argentina is particularly interesting because far from being a passive participant in or recipient of this justice cascade, Argentina was very often an instigator of particular new mechanisms within the cascade. The case illlustrates the potential for global human rights protagonism at the periphery of the system. The Argentine case also supports the general thesis of the volume that multiple transitional justice mechanisms are frequently used in a single case." (exceprt)

Price, Marty D.. Restorative Justice Speaking Tour in Argentina and Chile.

n May, 2006 I had the unique opportunity to spend two weeks on speaking tours of Argentina and Chile as a restorative justice expert. Initially, I was invited by the Argentine Ministry of Justice. The Chilean Ministry of Justice requested that my tour be extended to Chile after they learned I would be coming to Argentina. The tour was sponsored and paid for by the U.S. Department of State’s Democracy and Human Rights International Information Program. The tour program was called, "Restorative Justice: Practices and Pitfalls - How to Make it Work." (excerpt)

Pujante Mangiola, Ignacio Javier. Mediación víctima- ofensor como herramienta para la justicia restauradora.

En los últimos años ha adquirido gran notoriedad la expresión "Métodos Alternativos de Resolución de Conflictos". Tratando de dar otro enfoque sobre el tema en cuestión, con la intención de definir, o al menos delinear, una de las tantas vetas que alrededor de los Métodos Alternativos de Resolución de Conflictos se van abriendo, mediante el presente trabajo, en lugar de desarrollar en general los Métodos Alternativos de Resolución de Conflictos (o alguno de ellos en particular), pretendo penetrar en una de sus vertientes, quizás la menos explorada de ellas y a la vez la que más intriga ha despertado en el exterior (y en parte en nuestro país). Todo ello sin perjuicio de hacer una obligada explicación de los Métodos Alternativos de Resolución de Conflictos en general, y también en particular, para poder individualizar el ámbito dentro del cual se encuentra la materia objeto del presente trabajo. Me estoy refiriendo a la aplicación de la mediación en el ámbito de ciertos actos humanos que por su trascendencia están tipificados como infracciones, contravenciones, faltas y/o delitos, o que sin estar tipificados como tales albergan a una víctima y a un ofensor, ambos sujetos ubicados en extremos opuestos de la ecuación resultante de dicho acto humano. A lo largo de éste trabajo se irá explicando la función de dicho método, demostrando mediante la propia explicación ofrecida, la viabilidad de la aplicación de los Métodos Alternativos de Resolución de Conflictos en la búsqueda de una solución “justaâ€? para ciertos actos infraccionales. En síntesis, la aplicación lo que se ha dado en llamar “justicia restauradoraâ€?, a través de la mediación víctima-ofensor. Resumen del autor.

Moon, Claire. ‘Who’ll Pay Reparations on My Soul?’1 Compensation, Social Control and Social Suffering

Contemporary debate about compensation for past wrongs turns on the assumption that state reparation benefits the victims of atrocity by acknowledging harm and ameliorating victim suffering. Indeed, much recent theoretical and practical work has concurred to establish reparation to victims of state crimes as a cornerstone of human rights. However, this article argues that reparation can also function to placate victim demands for criminal justice and to regulate the range of political and historical meanings with which the crimes of the past are endowed. This is most evident in transitional political contexts in which gestures of reparation are usually concomitant with the inauguration of new political orders, and formal investigations of past atrocity are conditioned by the balancing of the political demands of new and old regimes. This article argues that in such contexts, state reparation can work to control social suffering with the consequence that it sometimes intensifies rather than alleviates it. To evidence this claim, the article investigates the refusal of reparations by the victims towards whom it is addressed, with reference to Argentina’s Madres de Plaza de Mayo. This analysis of their refusal demonstrates how victim groups make important challenges to some of the core assumptions in the field, reveals internal inconsistencies within the analytical architecture of the scholarly and professional discourse, and indicates the ways in which reparations carry political, and not just palliative, significance.(Author's Abstract)

Dierx, Janny. Penal mediation in Argentina and the Netherlands. Dutch Principles and Argentine Practices. A comparative investigation.

This paper offers a comparative investigation of the incorporation of penal mediation in the judicial system of the Netherlands on the one hand and the Province of Buenos Aires and the Federal Capital of Buenos Aires in Argentina on the other hand. In both countries mediation has been introduced in society through legislation and private initiatives. Regarding to institutionalising penal mediation, the situation is different in both countries. In Argentina initiatives to implement penal mediation both through legislation and through projects on a voluntary basis have in some provinces already been taken years ago while in the Netherlands the focus shifted to other restorative practices than mediation. This paper explores the differences in theory and practice of penal mediation in the two countries and the backgrounds of these differences. The paper identifies some good practices and models for implementation of penal mediation in Argentina that might also be of interest to enhance penal mediation in The Netherlands, as more Dutch initiatives concerning penal mediation are likely to be expected. In the seventh chapter of this paper the Argentine Practices are compared to the Dutch Principles that have recently been drafted by a group of Dutch professionals in the field of restorative justice and penal law. One of the conclusions that are being drawn is that the Argentine models show the importance of loyalty to the mediation procedure and mediation techniques and a full authority as a mediator while carrying out victim-offender conversations. Also the proceedings, the outcomes of victim-offender conversations and the position of the moderator of victim-offender conversations benefit from the establishment of a genuine penal mediation process. Another conclusion is that state responsibility and involvement is vital in penal mediation as it has to be connected to the penal process and the consequences of pre-trail penal mediation have to be determined. The Argentine practice, as observed in the context of this paper in two Argentine organisations, also shows the importance of incorporating a ‘double check’ after the penal mediation, albeit marginal, by the public prosecution authorities or the judge. The provincial law of Buenos Aires offers a clear example of putting consequences to successful penal mediation, while respecting the special nature of penal mediation, its confidentiality and differences from the penal process. The Argentine practise for instance carefully makes a difference between participating in penal mediation and ‘pleading guilty’, while the Dutch Principles show a tendency to identify the participation in mediation as specie of pleading guilty. Both systems put the interest of avoiding re-victimisation in the first place. The Argentine system however seems more subtle and workable, especially in cases of minor offences and infractions. (author's abstract)

Valverde, Estela and Humphrey, Michael. Human Rights Politics and Injustice: Transitional Justice in Argentina and South Africa.

Transitional justice is about the recovery of the rule of law and justice after mass violence. In the recent history of Argentina and South Africa, human rights politics have played an important role in the transition from repression to democracy as a discourse of resistance to state repression and as a framework and methodology for the successor state to manage demands for justice and promote reconciliation. Post-transition, they have provided a standard for the accountability of state institutions and evaluation of the democratic government's performance. In this article, we explore the roles of victims, survivors and relatives in the expansion of human rights politics. We argue that victims represent their suffering as embodied injustice and make their victim identity the focus of efforts to recover a moral contract between state and citizens. The expansion of human rights politics to include social and economic rights is an expression of the limits of transitional justice in recovering full citizenship in the context of the neo-liberal democratic project in Argentina and South Africa. (author's abstract)

Acuña, Carlos H.. Transitional Justice in Argentina and Chile: A Never-Ending Story?

The object of this chapter is to analyze and explain the particular dynamics assumed by the political process related to the treatment of military human rights violations during the transitions to democracy in Argentina and Chile. This work explains why the actors did what they did as a function of their objectives and the political and institutional constraints they encountered. It analyzes how and why the articulation of the different strategies shaped the political process and, finally, the significance of these processes for the type of democratic regime that emerged in each of these two Latin American countries. (excerpt)

Elster, Jon. Retribution and Reparation in the Transition to Democracy

The contributions in this volume offer a comprehensive analysis of transitional justice from 1945 to the present. They focus on retribution against the leaders and agents of autocratic regimes preceding democratic transitions, and on reparation to victims. Part I contains general theoretical discussions of retribution and reparation. The essays in Part II survey transitional justice in the wake of World War II, covering Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, and Norway. In Part III, the contributors discuss more recent transitions in Argentina, Chile, Eastern Europe, the former German Democratic Republic, and South Africa, with a chapter on the reparation of injustice in some of these situations. The editor provides a general introduction, a brief introduction to each part, and a conclusion that looks beyond regime transitions to vroader issues of rectifying historical injustice. (Publisher’s description)

Maier, Charles S. Doing history, doing justice: The narrative of the historian and of the truth commission.

Maier investigates the intersection of the roles of the historian and truth commissions or formal court proceedings in the aftermath of large-scale abuses. The focus is on parallels in those roles in establishing, explaining, and interpreting a narrative of political violence. Examples come from post-World War II war-crimes trials, Chile, Argentina, Germany (after unification with East Germany), and South Africa. In this context, Maier points to the need for the historian to “interrogate" the historical record developed by commissions and courts, as well as the need for the historian to study the investigating body itself (commissions and courts) and its work. This leads to discussion of the similarities and differences in historical narratives established by the historian and by commissions and courts, as well as discussion of the significance of narrative itself.

Penal Mediation Piloted in Argentina

In the 1990s, Argentina began a series of reform efforts to alleviate corruption, overcrowding of jails and prisons, backlogs stalling the court system, and a lack of faith in the justice system. Among those reforms was the Proyecto RAC (Alternative Conflict Resolution Project), a pilot project in penal mediation.

Parker, Lynette. The Use of Restorative Practices in Latin America

Several Latin American countries are looking for alternative methods for dealing with crime and conflict. This opening has spurred both government and civil society to experiment with restorative processes.