Amnesty After Atrocity? - Softcover

Cobban, Helena

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1594513171 ISBN 13: 9781594513176

Publisher: Routledge, 2007

Synopsis

"A compelling read." Richard J. Goldstone, former Chief Prosecutor of the UN tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda "A very important contribution." Princeton N. Lyman, Council on Foreign Relations "A powerful reminder that dealing with the legacy of wartime atrocities is not simply a matter of bringing perpetrators to justice. It also means overcoming the divisions within the society and healing the victims." Marina Ottaway, Senior Associate, Democracy and Rule of Law Project, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace In Amnesty after Atrocity? veteran journalist Helena Cobban examines the effectiveness of different ways of dealing with the aftermath of genocide and violence committed during intergroup conflicts. She traveled to Rwanda, Mozambique, and South Africa to assess the various ways those nations tried to come to grips with their violent past: from war crimes trials to truth commissions to outright amnesties for perpetrators. She discovered that in terms of both moving forward and satisfying the needs of survivors, war crimes trials are not the most effective path. This book provides historical context and includes interviews with a cross-section of people: community leaders, victims, policymakers, teachers, rights activists, and even some former abusers. These first-person accounts create a rich, readable text, and Cobban's overall conclusions will surprise many readers in the West.

About this title

From the Publisher:

"Helena Cobban makes a very important contribution to the growing debate over the wisdom of pursuing retribution versus reconciliation where mass violations of human rights have taken place. Her conclusions may not sit well with everyone engaged in this debate, but everyone should read this book to understand the experience of those countries that have gone through this process and that have informed her careful judgment." —Princeton N. Lyman, Council on Foreign Relations

"A powerful reminder that dealing with the legacy of wartime atrocities is not simply a matter of bringing perpetrators to justice. It also means overcoming the divisions within the society and healing the victims. International tribunals do not provide the entire answer." —Marina Ottaway, Senior Associate, Democracy and Rule of Law Project, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

"Helena Cobban is a veteran journalist who has covered transitional justice in many couintries. Her views have always been marked by independence and a questioning of commonly accepted approaches. Her first person accounts make this book compelling reading." —Richard J. Goldstone, former Chief Prosecutor of the UN tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda and former Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa

About the Author:

Helena Cobban is a columnist for the Christian Science Monitor and a contributing writer at the Boston Review. She has also written several books, including The Moral Architecture of World Peace (University of Virginia Press 2000), The Superpowers and the Syrian-Israeli Conflict (Praeger Publishers 1991) and The Making of Modern Lebanon (Hutchinson 1985).

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 1594513171
• ISBN 13: 9781594513176
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 296