human rights, justice & democracy project
The Human Rights, Justice & Democracy in Latin America project, an initiative funded by the Open Society Institute, will organize a conference series on the trial of former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori and other human rights trials in Latin America. The conference series is a collaborative initiative of the Center for Global Studies at GMU; the Legal Defense Institute (IDL), a human rights organization based in Lima, Peru; and the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), an advocacy group based in Washington, D.C. The project is under the direction of PIA faculty member Dr. Jo-Marie Burt.
The trial of former president of Peru, Alberto Fujimori, started on December 10, 2007. The current trial involves four charges of human rights violations committed during his government (1990-2000); Fujimori will face additional trials on charges of abuse of authority and corruption.
The trial of Fujimori is truly historic: It marks the first time a former head of state has been extradited to his own country to stand trial for human rights violations. By seeking to punish a former head of state for grave abuses of human rights, Peru stands at the forefront of a broader regional effort to guarantee accountability and justice for past rights abuses. The trial also represents an important effort to consolidate the rule of law in Peru, a key aspect of democratic governance. To access latest report authored by Dr. Burt, who has observed the trial for WOLA, click here. For more reports click on April (2008) and December (2007). The Washington Post also published an article on the trial in July 2008, citing the scholar. Click here to view it.
Equally historic is the fact that dozens of human rights trials are currently under way in Peru, as elsewhere in Latin America. Once the “sanctuary of impunity”—to use Eduardo Galeano’s phrase in reference to Uruguay—Latin America has taken bold new steps to hold military and civilian torturers accountable for their crimes. The advance of justice is all the more remarkable, given the historic weakness of Latin American judiciaries, the notorious absence of political will to hold those responsible for such crimes accountable, and the belief, even among some progressives, that trials were not viable, perpetuated conflict, or undermined the opportunity for reconciliation.
Despite the historic nature of the trial, its importance has not been matched by adequate journalistic coverage and scholarly inquiry. Internationally, too, little attention has been given to the Fujimori trial and the effort it and other trials represent to achieve accountability for past violations of human rights in Latin America.
The project will analyze and evaluate the trial of Fujimori in comparative perspective through a two-part conference series in Lima (June 25-26, 2008, click here for more details) and Washington, D.C. (Oct 2, 2008). The conference series will provide a forum for scholars, jurists, human rights lawyers, and activists to analyze and reflect upon the Fujimori and other human rights trials in Latin America. The specific objective of the conference is to analyze the legal and political dimensions of the Fujimori trial as well as the broader political and social significance of the trial to promote debate and discussion within Peru and the rest of Latin America, as well as among U.S. academicians, activists, and policymakers. The conference series will also provide an opportunity to highlight the efforts of Latin American civil society to promote justice and accountability through the judicial process, and the extent to which, and in what ways, this process contributes to democratic consolidation.