Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Releases Report on the Right to Truth in the Americas (November 27, 2014) [1]
On November 27, 2014, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (the Commission) released a report [3], “The Right to Truth in the Americas,” about the importance of disseminating information on human rights abuses, particularly forced disappearances, during conflict. According to the press release [4], restriction of information during periods of dictatorship or violence has been a popular method of controlling populations, and “the report examines States’ obligations with regard to the goal of guaranteeing the right to the truth in the face of grave human rights violations.” As forced disappearances have plagued Central and South America for decades, “the report stresses that States have an obligation to take all measures necessary to clarify what happened, determine the victims’ whereabouts, identify the exhumed bodies, and return the remains to the next of kin.” The report suggests different options for telling the truth about conflict, including “unofficial truth commissions, investigations, and the preparation of studies and reports, as well as initiatives designed to bring pressure to bear for recognition of these violations by society and the public.”