Is Justice Delayed Justice Denied?

March 26, 2004 - 5:00 pm

Eduardo Gonzalez, International Center for Transitional Justice

This session focuses on efforts to attain justice for past human rights abuses and their impact on the deepening of the rule of law, as well as on current strategies for the defense of human rights. The roles of national and international courts, governments, and human rights organizations, together with other relevant institutions, will be analyzed on order to establish what works and what does not.

Eduardo Gonzalez’s presentation will present the transitional justice experience in Peru after the demise of the regime headed by Alberto Fujimori. It will describe, the interaction of local activists and international law institutions putting the issue of human rights in the agenda of the national opposition; the creation of the Truth and reconciliation Commission as part of the initial program of the transition; the work of the TRC and its relation to justice, as well as the course of the transition and the difficulties facing the struggle against impunity in Peru.

Eduardo Gonzalez is a Peruvian sociologist. He graduated from the Catholic University in Lima and holds an M.A. in Sociology from the New School for Social Research in New York, where he has concentrated on issues of democratic theory and political transitions for his ongoing studies towards a Ph.D.

As a member of the NGO Coalition for the International Criminal Court in New York, he participated in the Rome Conference and for three years afterwards he was the coordinator for the ICC ratification campaign in Africa, Asia and Latin America; conducting numerous advocacy missions and establishing alliances with key members of civil society interested in the prompt entry into force of the ICC.

As the regime of Peruvian dictator Fujimori collapsed and the Rome Statute neared its entry into force, Mr. Gonzalez went back to Peru and became engaged in the process of creating a truth commission. When it was formed, he became a core staff member and was charged with coordinating the Public Hearings Unit and the Victims and Witnesses Protection Program. At the same time, he continued his involvement in the ICC effort, was instrumental in Peru’s ratification and was a member of the Peruvian delegation at the first Assembly of States Parties.

As the work of the Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission neared its completion, he was appointed as a member of the editorial committee for the Commission’s Final Report, which was officially handed over to the Peruvian government on August 28th, 2003.

As a senior associate at ICTJ, Mr. Gonzalez has assisted the Truth, Reintegration and Reconciliation Commission of Timor Leste, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Sierra Leone and the Instance of Fairness and Reconciliation of Morocco.