Truth & Reconciliation Commissions: Examining Past Human Rights Abuses & Historical Injustices - Essay Sample

Introduction

A truth commission is described as an amiable catchy name that’s often used to refers to a wide range of bodies that are set to examine and investigate the past wrongdoings or historical injustices mated by the government on people. There are a number of roles and purposes served by Truth and Reconciliation Commissions. The main role of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is to examine and investigate all the past human rights abuses with the notion of not persecuting individuals but to reveal the key factors and certain events that rounded the happenings at that particular moment (Avruch, 2010). One of the questions that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission asks and seeks in the course of the investigation is where and why certain events that mated human abusees occurred. Preferably, the truth commission is mandated with the role of examining all the unfolded events relating to atrocities and crimes that occurred within a stated country (Avruch, 2010). Another major role of the truth commission is to compile a report on the findings and published them so that the public can be aware of the truth. The key role of the exposure is to ensure that it has both educational and cathartic effect in the overall society transition. In addition to this, truth commission assists in the acknowledgment of the history and how the misdeeds in the ancients can help the society in forging the way forward to better lives of the people and governance.

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Advantages and Disadvantages of Truth and Reconciliation Commissions

The beauty and advantage of the Truth and Reconciliation Commissions are that the organ does not require a large sum of money for its establishment and operations (Avruch, 2010). It is because the commission is a temporary institution that is mandated with limited goals and objectives, which depends largely on the needs of society. In addition to this, the operations of the truth commission are often flexible, and it is because there are no set laws and procedures that are required for the submissions and hearing before the organ as compared to the criminal procedures.

The major disadvantage is the salient weakness that comes with much of the flexibility that is witnessed in the operations of the commission. Another disadvantage is that it is often a political process established with political interests. Thus, the decision-makers in the process might fail to consider the aspect of resourceful and independent investigation and only focuses on serving the vested interest of the said politicians (Avruch, 2010). Some of the potential witnesses may fail to testify before the come more so when they feel like their lives are endangered, and they are guaranteed protection in the long run. Truth and Reconciliation Commission operations can also be halted with the existences of scarce resources, divergent interests as well as impunity laws.

Question 2

Societies Gain by Punishing Criminal Behavior

There are many reasons as to why societies engage in the act of pushing the criminal behaviors. The main reason for pushing criminal acts is to enforce and encourage proper behaviors among people. Criminals are often fined using different mechanisms such as judicial system, corporal punishment, fining them as well as issuing custodial sentences like prisoning (Point Park University, 2019). In this analysis, three different rationales will be discussed in line with the punishment, and they include incapacitation, rehabilitation as well as retribution.

Rehabilitation

First and foremost, rehabilitation is a major aspect of dealing with crimes. It focuses largely on overcoming the barriers and helping criminals not to commit criminal acts again. It deals with psychological issues resolving and developing occupational skills. Some of the elements that one considers, in this case, include aggression and drug addiction (Point Park University, 2019). The major focus of rehabilitation is to help the offenders to reform and bring them back to the community after the transition.

Incapacitation

Incapacitation is a form of punishment that aims at reducing and preventing the future increase in the crimes within society by moving all the criminals and taking them far from the community. It is a norm that was largely used in the ancient days as a form of punishment in Hong Lu and Miethe. It is also a method that was used by the colonial more so the Europeans in which they convicted the criminal and took them to overseas prisons (Point Park University, 2019). The key forms of the punishment under incapacitation include house arresting, the death penalty as well as incarceration.

Retribution

It is considered as the oldest punishment form that is largely rooted in the Judea-Christian Justice tradition. Retribution is defined as a form of punishing an offender in which the criminal is punished based on the proportionate act that the wrongdoer did in the process. It is considered that most of the punishments given under retribution make the defendant feel a sense of satisfaction while at the same time it helps in preventing the future reoccurrence of the said crime (Point Park University, 2019). The ancient form of punishment, in this case, included the death penalty, whereas the modern form emphasizes on fines. Even though this form is considered as popular, it has faced a lot of criticism based on its limited capacity and overly rigid aspect that it has in most cases.

References

Avruch, K. (2010). Truth and reconciliation commissions: Problems in transitional justice and the reconstruction of identity. Transcultural psychiatry, 47(1), 33-49.

Point Park University. (2019, May 2). Addressing transgressions: Types of criminal punishment. Retrieved May 20, 2020, from https://online.pointpark.edu/criminal-justice/types-of-criminal-punishment/