Mikadze, Kirsten

English

York University, Osgoode Hall Law School

Osgoode Hall Law JournalVolume 48, Number 3/4 (Fall/Winter 2010) Article 18Book Notes: The Politics of Acknowledgement:Truth Commissions in Uganda and Haiti, byJoanna R. QuinnKirsten MikadzeFollow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/ohljPart of the Law CommonsBook NoteThis Book Note is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at Osgoode Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in OsgoodeHall Law Journal by an authorized editor of Osgoode Digital Commons.Citation InformationMikadze, Kirsten. "The Politics of Acknowledgement: Truth Commissions in Uganda and Haiti, by Joanna R. Quinn." Osgoode HallLaw Journal 48.3/4 (2010) : 723-724. http://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/ohlj/vol48/iss3/18723Book NoteTHE POLITICS OF ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: TRUTH COMMIS-SIONS IN UGANDA AND HAITI, by Joanna R. Quinn'KIRSTEN MIKADZETRUTH COMMISSIONS AND SIMILAR MECHANISMS of transitional justice are nowwidely employed by nations struggling through the process of rebuilding aftermass atrocity or conflict. They are used in the hope of propelling these weakenedor destroyed nations towards a place where societal healing can occur. Truthcommissions, despite differing forms, are generally motivated by the same centralmandate: uncovering and reporting on the truth of past events. They stand incontrast to other approaches to dealing with atrocities, such as retributive justice,reparation, or restorative justice. But how precisely do they facilitate the recoveryprocess? Which elements are crucial to their success?Joanna Quinn sets out to establish a means of better understanding and toassess how truth commissions should operate. She argues that acknowledgement isan essential element of societal recovery and should therefore feature prominentlyin the outcome of a successful truth commission. With this in mind, she establishesa theory of practice for the successful operation of truth commissions and deploysthis framework to evaluate the outcomes of truth commissions in Uganda and Haiti.According to Quinn, acknowledgment of past events is a necessary processthrough which a society must go on its way to recovery. It is not, however, asufficient condition for achieving this end. Rather, it is a preliminary step. Onceacknowledgment has occurred, she contends, a society can undertake other neces-sary, discrete (though interrelated) steps in this process. For example, only once pastevents have been acknowledged are victims in a position to forgive perpetrators.In turn, forgiveness frees victims to trust again. When the ability to trust-I. (Vancouver: UBC Press, 2010) 160 pages.724 12010) 48 OSGOODE HALL LAW JOURNALoften badly comproniised as a result of mass atrocities-is re-established, socialcohesion and civic engagement can regenerate.In Quinn's model, acknowledgement comprises at minimum three elements:coming to terms with the past, emotional response (particularly denial, mourning,and revenge), and memory and remembering. Although not an exhaustive list,in her view gauging the existence of these elements in the outcome of the workof a truth commission will reveal whether or not the commission has generatedacknowledgement of the past among ordinary citizens.After situating acknowledgement in the process of societal recovery anddetailing its core indicators, Quinn provides some context for the Ugandan andHaitian truth commissions and describes the circumstances that led to theirultimate failures. The Ugandan Commission of Inquiry into Violations of HumanRights (CIVHR) was created in response to the mass atrocities committedunder the Obote and Amin regimes between 1962 and 1986. The HaitianCommission nationale de v6rit6 et de justice (CNVJ) was set. up to addresshuman rights violations that occurred between 1991 and 1994.Although born of different circumstances, Quinn notes several commonfactors that contributed to the ultimate failure of the CIVHR and the CNVJ.Chief amongst these factors were a dearth of political will and a lack of popularsupport of (or even outright opposition to) the work of the commissions. Theseinfluences in turn led to institutional constraints upon the commissions, catego-rized by Quinn as inadequate capacity, security concerns, lack of funding andresources, and time delays. As a result of these shortcomings neither the CIVHRnor the CNVJ was able to produce results capable of facilitating societal recovery;neither ended up engendering acknowledgment.In her analysis, Quinn notes that although neither the C1VHR nor the CNVJexplicitly engaged the notion of acknowledgement in their mandates, both had thepotential to offer their respective populations the opportunity to begin acknowledg-ing past abuses. However, after applying the three indicators of acknowledgementto the ultimate results of the CIVHR and the CNVJ, Quinn concludes that neithercommission succeeded in fostering any meaningful measure of acknowledgment.Acknowledgement of past crimes is rarely easy. However, for a society transi-tioning from internal conflict to peace, there is immeasurable value in this exercise.In light of this fact, Quinn's normative framework provides a useful and valuablelens for evaluating the effectiveness of truth commissions and other instrumentsof transitional justice.

Book Notes: The Politics of Acknowledgement: Truth Commissions in Uganda and Haiti, by Joanna R. Quinn

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Book Notes: The Politics of Acknowledgement: Truth Commissions in Uganda and Haiti, by Joanna R. Quinn

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York University, Osgoode Hall Law School