Introduction
Challenges
Methods
"Strong emotional dynamics produced in the traumatized society after severe human rights violations may in fact lead to new human rights violations." Introduction Human rights express the basic standards of living in a state. They represent rights of the individual or groups vis-à-vis the government, as well as responsibilities of the individual and the government authorities. Civil, cultural, political and economic rights cover the fundamental rules of social life. The post-crisis climate is one of violence and suspicion, in which there is little respect for human rights and the rule of law. Government institutions and the judiciary, which bear the main responsibility for the observation of human rights, are severely weakened or even completely powerless during conflict. In the aftermath of conflict violence often persists due to dominance of the military and security apparatus. In many cases they make unlimited use of their license to establish safety and security. They remain unchecked due to the weakness of government institutions and the powerless judicial system. But a general improvement in the human rights situation is essential for rehabilitation of war-torn societies. Healing of the psychological scars caused by atrocities and reconciliation at the community level cannot take place if the truth about war crimes is not revealed and if human rights are not protected. To preserve political stability human rights implementation must be managed efficiently. Issues of mistrust and betrayal must be addressed. The rule of law has to be restored. Human rights must not become just another compartmentalized aspect of recovery, but must be infused throughout all Peacebuilding activities. They are not separable from other reconstruction efforts. Democratization implies the restoration of political and social rights. Officials of government authorities and members of security and police forces have to be trained to observe basic rights in the execution of their duties. Finally, being able to forgive violations is the core element for reconciliation of society. The universality of human rights is, in principle, a recognized fact. It was established through the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and international covenants, which expand the regulations of the first document. However, all international norms are subject to cultural interpretation. External agents that assist in the restoration of human rights standards in post-conflict societies therefore have to be careful to find local terms with which to express that universality, since foreign terms can potentially create misunderstanding and distrust in implementation mechanisms in countries where different social norms prevail. Challenges Programs designed to prevent future human rights violations by establishing moral and political standards are challenged by psychological and cultural realities. - Truth: After conflicts there are strong external and internal interests of discovering the truth about what happened. Victims, in particular, are interested in punishment of perpetrators. But this quest for "truth" can be abused by interest groups for their own political purposes. By pointing at the crimes of others they might seek to hide their own violations. Rebels often accuse government troops of severe human rights violations, while arguing that their crimes committed against innocent civilians were acts of necessary defense or justified revenge. Thus, agreement has to be reached about the fundamental concepts of truth and justice.
- Universality/cultural interpretation: International agents engaged in the promotion of human rights derive their legitimacy from the universal character of human rights. Their intervention is based on the idea that human rights represent basic rights, with which every individual should be endowed. All human beings are equal and should thus have the same fundamental rights. But at the same time, human beings are determined by their environment. The perception of which basic needs should be guaranteed through fundamental rights differs according to cultural, political, economic and religious circumstances. Consequently, promotion of human rights has to be culturally adapted to avoid distrust and perceptions of intrusion into internal affairs.
- Impunity: Impunity is the absence of penalties or inadequacy of compensation for massive and severe violations of human rights. Governments often omit to acknowledge or persecute human rights violations committed by their agents. This might be due to legislation that grants immunity to government officials or simply due to non-enforcement of existing laws. In the ideal case, inaction on behalf of the governments is prevented by putting - in one form or the other - all former adversaries in charge, so that checks and balances are established. But when peace comes after a decisive victory of one group, it becomes very difficult to bring all perpetrators to justice.
- Incrimination: War heroes, who violated human rights for their "just" cause, become criminals and killers once the war ceases to be "just". This turn of their fate can bring former soldiers to grief. At the same time the victims of human rights violations suffer from their experiences. This mutual sentiment of grief might either help for reconciliation and forgiveness, or might render reconciliation and forgiveness impossible.
- Forgiveness: People, perpetrators as well as victims, are inclined to chose the easier way of forgetting about the past atrocities rather than to try to overcome them. But forgetting is not a positive path, because by forgetting sentiments are just lagged and feelings of hatred and revenge might flare up in the future.
Methods To promote human rights standards in post-conflict societies psychological aspects have to be resolved. New social norms have to be introduced or old moral standards have to be reestablished. - Education: Technical and financial assistance should be provided to increase knowledge about human rights. Members of the police and security forces have to be trained to ensure the observation of human rights standards for law enforcement. Research institutes and universities should be strengthened to train lawyers and judges. Most important, education about human rights must become part of general public education. To uphold human rights standards in the long-term, their values must permeate all levels of society.
- Dialogue: Dialogue groups that assemble people from various ethnicities should be organized to overcome mistrust, fear and grief in society. Getting to know the feelings of ordinary people of each side might help to change the demonic image of the enemy group. Dialogue helps finding out the truth.
- Legislative Assistance: External specialists to provide guidance in drafting press freedom laws, minority legislation and laws securing gender equality should be employed. They can assist in drafting a constitution, which guarantees fundamental political and economic rights.
- Monitoring: International observers can exert modest pressure to bring violations of human rights to public notice, at the same time discouraging further violence. Not only violations but also the progress in the realization of human rights should be made public by monitors. To avoid that notorious perpetrators do not become emboldened if no action is taken after the results of investigations have been made public, effective mechanisms that achieve justice have to be established.
- Truth Commissions: Truth commissions are usually established after a dictatorial government has been toppled. They investigate the crimes committed by the former authorities. Their mission is to make the truth about what happened public knowledge, but their effectiveness is limited. Truth commissions adhere to the same requirements as ordinary courts – independence, impartiality and competence – but traditionally there is no mechanism to guarantee the enforcement of their recommendations.
- International Tribunals: The most effective institutions to ensure that individuals, who committed human rights violations, are held criminally responsible are international tribunals. However, as the experiences with the war tribunals for Rwanda and Yugoslavia indicate, it remains difficult to sentence the top-level decision makers, who bear the ultimate responsibility for atrocities. They often enjoy political immunity as members of the post-conflict government. The question of how much justice must be done to establish peace remains open. To insist that holding all violators criminally responsible is necessary for the sake of human rights promotion might not be advisable. Incriminating a popular leader might lead to violent protests and sometimes even to relapse into conflict.
- Judiciary: For sustainability and long-term viability of human rights standards strong local enforcement mechanisms have to be established. An independent judiciary has to be restored that provides impartial means and protects individuals against random and politically influenced persecution.
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