1. Goals and Challenges Facing Transitional Democracies

2. What are the goals? States have four obligations:
Do justice: criminal prosecutions/punishment
Grant victims right to know the truth: investigations, reports, truth commissions
Grant reparations: monetary and other compensation for damages suffered
Do not allow violators to continue to serve on law-enforcement or security forces: a purge of security forces

3. In all cases, two main kinds of obstacles
Political factors:
Members of the old regime and their supporters will resist a look at old crimes
The new regime may resist the creation of a truly independent and strong judiciary, and may be reluctant to challenge powerful actors
Institutional factors:
Information: hard to prove old crimes
Economics: states are in disrepair, and this is costly
Infrastructure: outmoded legislation, weak judicial structures

5. Overcoming the obstacles
In many countries, this is a huge task, requiring building a “new” judiciary from scratch
Will need to be stronger and more independent, less corrupt
In others, like Chile, a functioning judiciary with authoritarian patterns can also be an obstacle
Will need to be reformed, maybe need a change of personnel

6. What results so far? Chile:
Do justice: almost no prosecutions
Right to know the truth: S.Ct. prevents investigation, truth commission stymied by military resistance
Grant reparations: only in the last year have they passed a reparations law
Depuration of law-enforcement or security forces: no purging of military or police.
In sum: not good for about 10 years, no corruption, but also no accountability for past violations. Today? Better.

7. What results so far? Argentina:
Do justice: Initial prosecutions, then amnesty
Grant victims right to know the truth: Strong truth commission report, televised trials
Grant reparations: Under Menem, reparations laws, and continuing
Do not allow violators to continue to serve on law-enforcement or security forces: some purging of military or police, but primarily upper echelons
In sum: initial prosecutions, but pardons, amnesties (and continuing corruption and inefficiency). Today?

8. What results so far? Guatemala:
Do justice: No prosecutions of high level officials
Grant victims right to know the truth: A strong truth commission report, though with some difficulty in dissemination
Grant reparations: no reparations
Do not allow violators to continue to serve on law-enforcement or security forces: no purging
In sum: no prosecutions, but a truth commission report.