Confronting the Truth
Encyclopedia
Confronting the Truth is a documentary film by Steve York
about truth and reconciliation commissions and how they work. The film focuses on the past commissions in South Africa
, Peru
, East Timor
, and Morocco
. The film was produced for the United States Institute for Peace (USIP) and includes interviews with a number of people involved in transitional justice
, the process of fairly confronting the legacy of past crimes committed during armed conflict, including Nobel Peace Prize winners Archbishop Desmond Tutu
and Jose Ramos Horta
.
USIP screened Confronting the Truth as part of its Rule of Law program in Iraq, where it hopes to generate understanding and spark public dialogue on the usefulness of the truth commission process. It has distributed some 440 DVDs of the Arabic and Kurdish language versions of the film in Iraq.
USIP also screened the film in Nepal, where it organized a series of roundtable discussions from 10 to 17 July 2007 to discuss transitional justice options pursued by other countries after conflict. Each roundtable included a presentation of various mechanisms to address past abuses, the presentation of Confronting the Truth, and a discussion on the prospects for transitional justice in Nepal. USIP officials met with representative groups from civil society, victims of the multi-year armed conflict, the media, and government and political party representatives. The sessions took place in Nepal's capital city of Kathmandu, as well as in Banke, Bardiya, and Dang Districts in the mid-western region, the most affected region during the conflict.
USIP also used the film in its civil society workshops in Sudan.
The film screened as part of the Search for Common Ground Film Series at the United Nations
. Harvard University showed it in 2008 as part of its Program on Negotiation.
Steve York
Steven H. York is a documentary filmmaker who has worked in Europe, Asia, Africa, and North and South America on subjects ranging from religious fundamentalism to American history to nonviolent conflict.- Life and career :...
about truth and reconciliation commissions and how they work. The film focuses on the past commissions in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, East Timor
East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
, and Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
. The film was produced for the United States Institute for Peace (USIP) and includes interviews with a number of people involved in transitional justice
Transitional justice
Transitional justice generally refers to a range of approaches that states may use to address past human rights violations and includes both judicial and non-judicial approaches. They include series of actions or policies and their resulting institutions, which may be enacted at a point of...
, the process of fairly confronting the legacy of past crimes committed during armed conflict, including Nobel Peace Prize winners Archbishop Desmond Tutu
Desmond Tutu
Desmond Mpilo Tutu is a South African activist and retired Anglican bishop who rose to worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid...
and Jose Ramos Horta
José Ramos Horta
José Manuel Ramos-Horta , GCL is the President of East Timor, the second since independence from Indonesia, taking office on 20 May 2007...
.
USIP screened Confronting the Truth as part of its Rule of Law program in Iraq, where it hopes to generate understanding and spark public dialogue on the usefulness of the truth commission process. It has distributed some 440 DVDs of the Arabic and Kurdish language versions of the film in Iraq.
USIP also screened the film in Nepal, where it organized a series of roundtable discussions from 10 to 17 July 2007 to discuss transitional justice options pursued by other countries after conflict. Each roundtable included a presentation of various mechanisms to address past abuses, the presentation of Confronting the Truth, and a discussion on the prospects for transitional justice in Nepal. USIP officials met with representative groups from civil society, victims of the multi-year armed conflict, the media, and government and political party representatives. The sessions took place in Nepal's capital city of Kathmandu, as well as in Banke, Bardiya, and Dang Districts in the mid-western region, the most affected region during the conflict.
USIP also used the film in its civil society workshops in Sudan.
The film screened as part of the Search for Common Ground Film Series at the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
. Harvard University showed it in 2008 as part of its Program on Negotiation.
External links
See also
- Truth and Reconciliation Commission (South Africa)